Liam Tuohy (27 April 1933 – 13 August 2016) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and manager. During the 1950s and 1960s, Tuohy played as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. In 1959, while playing for Ireland, Tuohy scored the first ever goal in the history of the European Championship. After retiring as a player, Tuohy became a coach and managed several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

including

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, and Shelbourne. He also managed the

. In July 1973, he also took charge of the Shamrock Rovers XI that played

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in a prestige friendly, and during the 1980s, he successfully coached the Republic of Ireland U-19s. He subsequently served as a director of football at Home Farm, before retiring in 2002. In October 2007, Tuohy, along with other members of the Shamrock Rovers team that won the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

six times in a row during the 1960s, was honoured by the FAI.

Early years

Tuohy was born in

East Wall East Wall () is an inner city area of the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Built on reclaimed ground in the 1820s, the area is also 30 minutes walk from Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street. Location East Wall is bounded by West Road to t ...

, a working class area on

Northside Dublin The Northside ( ga, Taobh Ó Thuaidh) is the part of Dublin city that lies to the north of the River Liffey. It is an informal but commonly used term. While it is sometimes regarded as less wealthy than the city's Southside, the Northside wa ...

. He was the second youngest in a family of six boys. His father, Gerry, died when he was young, leaving him and his five brothers to be raised by his mother, Sadie. Tuohy played in goal at

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

for his school, St. Joseph's, and began playing soccer for St. Mary's, East Wall. After leaving school, Tuohy initially worked as a wheel builder for

Royal Enfield Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which they had manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "E ...

, delivered groceries and assembled prams.

Club career

Shamrock Rovers

In August 1951, after impressing the Rovers mentors in a

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competi ...

game for St Mary's, Tuohy was signed by

. Despite finishing top scorer after a season with the under 21s and another as top scorer with the second team, he didn't make his

until 7 March 1954 at

Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers ...

. Tuohy had made such an impact that just six months later he was selected on the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

to play

The Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

. As a 21-year-old, Tuohy attracted the interest of both

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, but he opted to remain with Rovers. Under player-manager

Paddy Coad Paddy Coad (14 April 1920 – 8 March 1992) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a forward for Waterford, Glenavon, Shamrock Rovers and Ireland. Although known, primarily, as a maker of goals, Coad scored 126 goals in the ...

, he subsequently became a prominent member of the successful Rovers team nicknamed ''Coad's Colts''. During this era, Rovers won the

title three times and the

twice. They also made their debut in European competition, and in 1959 Tuohy scored the first of four goals for Rovers at this level, when he scored their second goal in 3–2 away defeat against

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. Tuohy and Shamrock Rovers history
European goals for Shamrock Rovers
On 3 May 1960, a testimonial against Newcastle United was held for both Tuohy and Liam Hennessy. Having given a good account of himself, Charlie Mitten signed him.

Newcastle United

By 1960, Tuohy, now aged 27, had met and married his wife Sheila and had fathered three children. He had played part-time for Rovers for nine years and was now working for

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

St. James's Gate Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

. It was at this stage that he accepted an offer from

in May 1960, to play full-time in the English League. He made his debut on 8 August 1960, and during three years with the club, he made 42 total appearances and scored 9 goals.

International career

Between 1955 and 1965, Tuohy made 8 appearances and scored 4 goals for the

. He made his debut on 10 October 1955, while at

, in a 4–1 defeat in a friendly against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The match was controversial because Yugoslavia was a communist state and the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive governme ...

, boycotted it in protest against the persecution of Catholic officials under Marshal Tito's regime. Tuohy won his next two caps while playing for Newcastle United. On 5 April 1959, Tuohy scored his first goal for Ireland, the opening goal in a 2–0 win against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. This match was a "preliminary round" qualifier for the inaugural European Nations' Cup, and so was the Republic of Ireland's first ever game in the competition. It has been reported many times since that Tuohy's goal was the first ever to be scored in a European nations' championship; however, a goal by

Anatoli Ilyin Anatoli Mikhaylovich Ilyin (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Ильин; 27 June 1931 – 10 February 2016) was a Soviet Russian footballer. Honours * Olympic champion: 1956. * Soviet Top League winner: 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 196 ...

in a September 1958 first round match for the USSR against Hungary predates Tuohy's strike. Tuohy's remaining three international goals were all scored in 1962. His second goal for Ireland came in a 3–2 defeat in a friendly against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He then scored in both games against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

during the qualifiers for the

1964 European Nations' Cup The 1964 European Nations' Cup was the second edition of the UEFA European Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over the defending champions, the Soviet Union. The tournament was a knockout compet ...

. Tuohy played his last game for Ireland on 24 March 1965, in a friendly against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Coaching career

Shamrock Rovers

In 1963, Tuohy returned to

as a player-coach and helped the club win a

double. In 1964, he was appointed Rovers player-manager and he subsequently guided a team that included, among others, Bobby Gilbert,

Johnny Fullam John Rowan "Johnny" Fullam (22 March 1940 – 10 June 2015) was an Irish association footballer. Career Born in Dublin, Fullam began his career at Home Farm before signing for Preston North End in 1958. He scored 6 goals in 49 league appea ...

Pat Dunne Patrick "Pat" Dunne (9 February 1943 – 25 September 2015) was an Irish professional football goalkeeper. He played internationally for the Republic of Ireland and professionally in both Republic of Ireland and England. Dunne played in Dublin ...

, Frank O'Neill,

Mick Leech Mick Leech (born 6 August 1948 in Dublin) was an Irish professional football player who made his name with Shamrock Rovers in the 1960s. He was signed by Paddy Ambrose and Liam Tuohy for Rovers in September 1966 from junior side Ormeau. He ...

and

Paddy Mulligan Patrick Martin "Paddy" Mulligan (born 17 March 1945 in Dublin) is an Irish retired footballer who played mainly as a right-back. Mulligan started his senior career playing for Bohemians in 1963. However, after only two games he signed for Shamr ...

to a consecutive run of

wins between 1964 and 1969. Tuohy also added to his tally of goals in European competition. In 1963, during a

Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup (no ...

game against

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, he scored in a 2–2 draw. He scored again in 1965, in another

game against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

, which finished 1–1. However the highlight of his European exploits came in 1966, when Rovers came close to knocking the eventual winners

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

out of the

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

. After holding Bayern to a 1–1 draw at

, goals from Bobby Gilbert and Tuohy saw Rovers came back from 2–0 down during the away game. Rovers were winning the tie on away goals when a late goal from

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...

saw Bayern win 3–2 on the night and progress to the next round. In total he made 16 appearances scoring 4 goals for Rovers in European competition. During the summer of 1967, Tuohy also played for and managed Rovers when they competed as

Boston Rovers Boston Shamrock Rovers (also known as Boston Rovers) were an American soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association (USA) league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. T ...

in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

league. In June 1972, he returned to Rovers for a second spell as manager, but resigned on 20 December 1973.

Dundalk

In 1969, Tuohy was appointed manager of

, after moving there with his job at

HB Ice Cream HB Ice Cream (originally an initialisation of both Hughes Brothers and Hazelbrook Farm) is an ice cream brand in Ireland and is part of the Unilever Group's Heartbrand ice cream brand. It manufactures most of the Heartbrand's ice cream range, as w ...

, and on 16 September they lost 10–0 to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the

. During this time at

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey F ...

, he was also a club director. Tuohy remained in charge of Dundalk until 1972, guiding them to victory in the Leinster Senior Cup in 1971, and the

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

in 1972.

Republic of Ireland

In 1971, Tuohy was appointed manager of the

. His first game in charge was on 10 October 1971, a 6–0 defeat away to

. The game, a European Championship qualifier, had been arranged for a Sunday, the day after a full league program in England. Forced to field a team of mainly

players, Tuohy resolved that this would not happen again. He demanded that all future fixtures be played on a Wednesday and over the following months he travelled to England and began discussions with various team managers to secure the release of his star players for future internationals. On 4 January 1972, in Tuohy's second game in charge Ireland beat the visiting West German Olympic XI 3–0. In June 1972, Tuohy took an Ireland squad to Brazil to compete in the

Brazilian Independence Cup The Brazil Independence Cup was an international association football, football tournament held in Brazil, from 11 June to 9 July 1972, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Brazilian Declaration of Independence. It was called the ''Minicopa ...

. While there they played four games, earning respectable wins over

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. Tuohy was also in charge of Ireland during the qualifiers for the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

. Denied the services of

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

and

through injury and

Don Givens Daniel Joseph "Don" Givens (born 9 August 1949) is an Irish former footballer and coach. A forward, Givens played club football for Manchester United, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Neuch ...

who was not released by

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, Ireland were beaten 2–1 by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

on 18 October 1972. However a month later on 15 November, Giles returned and inspired Ireland to a 2–1 win over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 13 May 1973, a 1–0 defeat to the Soviets effectively ended Ireland's chances of qualifying for the World Cup. On 19 May 1973 in the return game against France, Tuohy took charge of Ireland for the last time. After just eleven games in charge, Tuohy resigned. At the same time as managing Ireland, Tuohy was also managing

and was working as an area sales manager for

. He was now the father of six children and financial pressures forced him to give up the Ireland job which only paid £500 a year.

Republic of Ireland U-19s

In 1981, Tuohy returned to international management after 6 years managing

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

and took the unpaid position as manager of the Republic of Ireland U-19 team. He was also managing Shelbourne. He appointed Brian Kerr as one of his assistants. The

Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team The Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-19 Football Championsh ...

qualified for the 1982 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship. They qualified again for the

1983 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1983 Final Tournament was held in England. Qualification Group 2 Group 13 Other Groups Teams The following teams qualified for the tournament: * * * * (host) * * * * * * * ...

, where despite remaining unbeaten in a group that included eventual winners

, they were eliminated. During the

1984 UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1984 Final Tournament was held in the Soviet Union. It also served as the European qualification for the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship. Qualification Group 8 Other Groups 1''The mat ...

s, Tuohy guided a team that included

Denis Irwin Joseph Denis Irwin (born 31 October 1965) is an Irish former professional footballer and sports television presenter. As a player, he played as a full-back from 1983 to 2004. Irwin is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester ...

and

Brian Mooney Brian Mooney, (born 2 February 1966 in Dublin) is an Irish former footballer who made his name as a skilful winger in English football. Mooney was spotted in 1983 by Liverpool playing for Irish schoolboy club Home Farm F.C. where he had won a F ...

to the semi-finals, where they lost to the

. They eventually finished fourth, after losing the third place play-off to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and this qualified them for the

1985 FIFA World Youth Championship The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. This was the best showing of any Irish team in an international competition, until Kerr guided the U-19s to victory in same competition in 1998. In February 1986, Tuohy resigned as the U-19 manager after he felt undermined by

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

, the new manager of the senior team. During a half-time team talk, Charlton had allegedly taken over and sidelined Tuohy.

Statistics

Inter League goals

Honours

Player

: 4 :: * 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1963–64

: 8 :: * 1955, 1956, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

: 8 :: * 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68 * Leinster Senior Cup: 6 * 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1969 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

: 1 * 1966–67 *SWAI Personality of the Year: 1 * 1965–66

Manager

: 1 :: * 1972 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1 * 1971

References

Sources

*''The Book of Irish Goalscorers'' by Seán Ryan & Stephen Burke 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuohy, Liam 1933 births 2016 deaths Association football wingers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Republic of Ireland B international footballers League of Ireland players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers Newcastle United F.C. players English Football League players United Soccer Association players United Soccer Association coaches Boston Rovers players Republic of Ireland football managers Republic of Ireland national football team managers League of Ireland managers Dundalk F.C. managers Shelbourne F.C. managers Home Farm F.C. coaches League of Ireland XI players League of Ireland XI managers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in the United States Stella Maris F.C. players Dublin University A.F.C. coaches Association football coaches