Tom Conaghan is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

figure who managed

Donegal county football team The Donegal county football team ( ) represents Donegal in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Donegal GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the Al ...

s during the 1980s and, later, the Sligo senior team. His former players regarded him as a

disciplinarian Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

in his approach to management. Conaghan managed Donegal to the 1982

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

. He later took over from

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football manager, administrator and player. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football C ...

as senior manager when McEniff had led the 1983

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

campaign to a win. Over the course of his time as senior manager during the 1980s, Conaghan fell out with numerous players. He dropped

Marty Carlin Marty Carlin (born 1961 or 1962) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Robert Emmets, Red Hughs and the Donegal county football team, Donegal county team. His father John was a provincial high jump champion. His brother Sean achie ...

and

Charlie Mulgrew Charles Patrick Mulgrew (born 6 March 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership side Dundee United. Mulgrew began his career at Celtic, during which time he spent time on loan at Dundee U ...

from his team for one year after they played for

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

in a Forster Cup final victory at Ravenhill in 1987. Other players with whom he fell out during his time as senior manager included

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team for tw ...

Manus Boyle Manus Boyle (born 1966) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team. He writes a column for the ''Donegal Democrat'' ("The Breaking Ball") and is a health coach. He played county football fr ...

, Matt Gallagher,

Barry McGowan Barry McGowan (born 1966) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Na Cealla Beaga and the Donegal county team. As of 2009, he was working for the ESB. Inter-county McGowan won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship ...

and

Sylvester Maguire Sylvester Maguire (born 1960s) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for Aodh Ruadh and the Donegal county team. He won the 1982 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship with Donegal. He fell out with senior county manager Tom C ...

. Conaghan's spell as county manager ended with a heavy defeat to Tyrone. McEniff, returning to the senior job for a fourth time in September 1989, restored many of those with whom Conaghan had fallen out to the panel in time for the 1990

, which Donegal won. Conaghan later managed the Sligo seniors. He was mentioned as a possible successor to P. J. McGowan as Donegal manager in 1997 in a dual role with Anthony Molloy. He withdrew and

became manager. In later years, Conaghan became involved in politics and sat as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall) is the authority responsible for local government in County Donegal, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

. He first stood for election in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

but did not win a seat. He won a seat in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and retained it in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. He was elected Cathaoirleach of the Donegal Municipal District on 13 June 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conaghan, Tom Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Gaelic football managers Independent politicians in Ireland Irish sportsperson-politicians Local councillors in County Donegal Politicians from County Donegal