{{Short description|Gaelic football manager}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox Gaelic games biography | name = Brian McIver | image = | alt = | caption = | irish = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | height = | feet = | inches = | nickname = | occupation = | sport = | clposition = | icposition = | managing_years = {{c.}} 2002 | managing_club = [[Ballinderry Shamrocks GAC|Ballinderry Shamrocks]] | managing_winningclub = | managing_clallireland = 1 | managing_clprovince = | managing_clcounty = | managing_iccounty = [[Donegal county football team|Donegal]]<br>[[Down county football team|Down]] (backroom)<br>[[Derry county football team|Derry]] | managing_icyears = 2005–2008<br>{{c.}} 2010<br>2012–2015 | managing_winningcounties = [[Donegal county football team|Donegal]] | managing_icprovince = | managing_icallireland = | managing_league = }} '''Brian McIver''' is a [[Gaelic football]] [[Manager (Gaelic games)|manager]] who has been in charge of two [[county team]]s and been part of another that played in an [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] final. He was the [[2007 National Football League (Ireland)|2007 National Football League]]-winning manager.
A [[Tyrone GAA|Tyrone]] native, McIver led [[Ballinderry Shamrocks GAC|Ballinderry Shamrocks]] to an [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]].<ref name=Director_of_Football/> Appointed manager of [[Donegal county football team|Donegal]] (in what was his first involvement at inter-county level), McIver led Donegal to an [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] final in his first championship campaign.<ref name=Duggan_not_forgotten/> He then led Donegal to a [[National Football League (Ireland)|National League]] title in 2007.<ref name=BBC_appointed/> His time as Donegal manager also saw him give a 17-year-old [[Michael Murphy (Gaelic footballer)|Michael Murphy]] his debut and he gave [[Neil McGee]], [[Frank McGlynn (Gaelic footballer)|Frank McGlynn]], [[Rory Kavanagh]] and [[Anthony Thompson (Gaelic footballer)|Anthony Thompson]] their first championship starts.<ref name=Duggan_not_forgotten>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brian-mciver-not-forgotten-by-donegal-for-pointing-out-light-1.2264358|title=Brian McIver not forgotten by Donegal for pointing out light|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|first=Keith|last=Duggan|date=27 June 2015}}</ref>
McIver received a degree from Coleraine, a [[Postgraduate Certificate in Education|PGCE]] from [[Queen's University Belfast|Queen's University]] and a master's from [[Jordanstown]].<ref name=life_of_Brian/> He headed to St Mary's, where his involvement with [[Paddy Tally]] began.<ref name=life_of_Brian/> Tally got involved with [[Down county football team|Down]] and brought McIver in along with him.<ref name=life_of_Brian>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishnews.com/sport/gaafootball/2022/05/27/news/the-life-of-brian-tyrone-native-brian-mciver-was-in-the-trenches-with-donegal-and-derry-2723899/|title=The life of Brian… Tyrone native Brian McIver was in the trenches with Donegal and Derry|work=[[The Irish News]]|first=Andy|last=Watters|date=28 May 2022}}</ref> McIver was part of the Down backroom team for the [[2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final]].<ref name=BBC_appointed/> McIver said in 2022 that he still thought Down would have won that game if [[Ambrose Rogers]] hadn't injured himself.<ref name=life_of_Brian/>
McIver was appointed [[Derry county football team|Derry]] manager in 2012,<ref name=BBC_appointed>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/northern-ireland/19513836|title=Brian McIver is appointed as the new Derry football boss|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=6 September 2012}}</ref> being announced in the same month [[Jim McGuinness]] led McIver's former Donegal players to an [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] title.<ref name=Duggan_not_forgotten/> [[Joe Brolly]] was particularly critical of McIver's management.<ref name=Director_of_Football/> McIver brought Derry to a Division 1 final in 2014.<ref name=Director_of_Football/> He quit the Derry management role in 2015, criticising [[Conor Lane]] on live television in his parting interview while confirming his departure.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.balls.ie/gaa/brian-mciver-resigns-with-sensational-interview-lambasting-referee-301679|title=Brian McIver Resigns With Sensational Interview Lambasting Referee|publisher=[[Balls.ie]]|first=Conor|last=O'Leary|date=18 July 2015|quote=The outgoing boss announced it in his post-game interview with RTE, which was a bizarre lambasting of the referee over his handling of the game, with focus on the black card and the lack of a penalty to Derry in the game.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/brian-mciver-aims-parting-tirade-at-brutal-refs-31388512.html|title=Brian McIver aims parting tirade at 'brutal' refs|work=[[Irish Independent]]|first=Declan|last=Rooney|date=20 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2015/0718/715735-mciver-resigns-in-fury-after-galway-defeat/|title=Derry boss Brian McIver quits in fury over refereeing standards|publisher=[[RTÉ]]|date=20 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/gaelic-games/33564387|title=Brian McIver lambasts referee as he quits Derry after Galway defeat|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=18 July 2015}}</ref> Earlier that season, he had criticised [[David Coldrick]] and then Ciaran Brannigan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-20317119.html|title=Derry boss Brian McIver 'disgusted' by display of referee Branagan after defeat by Mayo|work=[[Irish Examiner]]|first=Cahair|last=O'Kane|date=9 March 2015}}</ref>
But McIver remained as Oak Leaf Director of Football.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://highlandradio.com/2015/09/09/brian-mciver-remains-with-derry-as-director-of-football/|title=Brian McIver remains with Derry as Director of Football|publisher=[[Highland Radio]]|date=9 September 2015}}</ref> He spent three years as Oak Leaf Director of Football after quitting as Derry manager.<ref name=life_of_Brian/> He was reported to be stepping down after four years in 2019.<ref name=Director_of_Football>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishnews.com/sport/gaafootball/2019/10/30/news/mciver-to-leave-role-as-derry-s-director-of-football-1751807/|title=Brian McIver to leave role as Derry's Director of Football|work=[[The Irish News]]|first=Cahair|last=O'Kane|date=30 October 2019}}</ref>
McIver's son [[Michael McIver|Michael]] is a Gaelic footballer, and McIver has managed him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/gaa/irate-brian-mciver-calls-foul-31032029.html|title=Irate Brian McIver calls foul|work=[[Belfast Telegraph]]|first=Declan|last=Bogue|date=1 March 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Donegal county football team managers}} {{Donegal Football Team 2007}} {{Down Football Team 2010}} {{Derry county football team managers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIver, Brian}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship winning managers]] [[Category:Gaelic football managers]] [[Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast]]