Paul Doolin (born 26 March 1963, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

) is an Irish former

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 ...

and manager. Who mostly recently managed

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

side

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

Career

He played for Bohemians, scoring on his debut on 13 September 1981. In April 1983 he played for the League of Ireland XI U21s against their Italian League counterparts who included

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sa ...

and Gianluca Vialli in their team. In June 1985 he signed for Shamrock Rovers and in his three years at the club won the double twice scoring 30 goals in 107 appearances. In his first season at Milltown he was the club's top goalscorer with 11 goals. He made six appearances in European competition for the Hoops and played for the League of Ireland XI in 5 Olympics qualifiers. In 1988, he joined Derry City, where he won a domestic treble in 1989. In his two seasons he scored 29 goals in 92 appearances. He then joined

and became the only player to win a League and Cup double both north and south of the border. In November 1991 he again signed for Shamrock Rovers, but this spell was less successful and Doolin left after 1 goal in 21 appearances to join Shelbourne where he won the FAI Cup in 1993. In August 1996, he had his second spell at Bohemians before moving to

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 then returning to Shelbourne and helping them to the double of the league championship and FAI Cup in 2000. Since his retirement, Doolin has moved into management and first took the reins at UCD, but left to take over at Drogheda with the Students 11 points adrift at the bottom of the table en route to a first relegation in 15 years. At Drogheda United, he led them to a first ever FAI Cup success (2005), as well as successive Setanta Sports Cup victories in 2006 and 2007, defeating

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

(twice) and Linfield respectively. He also led them to a first ever League title in 2007. Having parted ways with Drogheda due to the club's precarious financial situation, Doolin joined

as manager on 13 January 2009 on a two-year, full-time contract. Despite the team finishing 3rd in the

2009 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2009 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 25th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Bohemian F.C., Bohemians were champions while Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers finished as runn ...

, Doolin resigned in November of that year, following a series of off-field financial problems at the club. In September 2010, Doolin was named as manager of the Republic of Ireland under-19 side. On the 18th of August 2021, Doolin was named as manager of

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

club Athlone Town. In 2022 Doolin would make his return to football management with former club

in Northern Ireland. However he resigned in October https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/irish-league/paul-doolin-leaves-portadown-after-dreadful-start-to-the-new-season-42095052.html

Honours

As a player

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 use ...

: 4 ** Shamrock Rovers – 1985–86, 1986–87 ** Derry City F.C. – 1988–89 ** Shelbourne F.C. – 1999–2000 FAI Cup: 6 ** Shamrock Rovers – 1986, 1987 ** Derry City F.C. – 1989, 1995 ** Shelbourne F.C. – 1993, 2000

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

: 1 ** Derry City F.C. – 1988/89

LFA President's Cup The LFA President's Cup was an association football cup competition featuring League of Ireland clubs affiliated to the Leinster Football Association. It was played for between 1930 and 2002. It was a ''de facto'' national super cup and on t ...

** Bohemians F.C. – 1997/98 * Irish League ** Portadown F.C. – 1990/91 *

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

: **

1990/91 *

Ulster Cup The Ulster Cup was an annual football competition held by the Irish Football League for senior clubs. History Beginning in 1949, it was held on fifty-one occasions until being suspended after the 1998/99 season and discontinued after a one-of ...

: **

1990/1991 * PFAI Player of the Year : 2 ** Shamrock Rovers – 1985/86 ** Derry City F.C. – 1988/89

As a manager

: ** Drogheda United – 2007 * FAI Cup : 1 ** Drogheda United – 2005 * Setanta Sports Cup : 2 ** Drogheda United – 2006, 2007 SWAI Personality of the Year: 2 University College Dublin F.C. – 2001/02 Drogheda United – 2007

Sources

* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolin and Robert Goggins () * ''The Four-in-a-Row Story'' by Robert Goggins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doolin, Paul 1963 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football midfielders Republic of Ireland football managers University College Dublin A.F.C. managers Drogheda United F.C. managers Cork City F.C. managers Athlone Town A.F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Bohemian F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players University College Dublin A.F.C. players League of Ireland players Portadown F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players NIFL Premiership players League of Ireland XI players Portadown F.C. managers