{{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Short description|Irish Gaelic football player and manager}} '''Tom Conaghan''' is an Irish [[Gaelic football]] figure who managed [[Donegal county football team]]s during the 1980s and, later, the [[Sligo county football team|Sligo senior team]]. His former players regarded him as a [[Discipline|disciplinarian]] in his approach to management.<ref name=dd_01042020/><ref name=dsh_22092017/>
==Early life== Conaghan was born into a family of six, and brought up in the centre of [[Donegal (town)|Donegal Town]], where his family ran a business that consisted of a [[Taxis by country#Ireland|hackney]], a store and undertaking.<ref name=dlive_01072012>{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Britton|url=https://www.donegallive.ie/news/donegal-news/37757/Tom-Conaghan--A-farmer-.html|title=Tom Conaghan: A farmer, a Mayor and above all, a father|work=[[Donegal Democrat]]|date=1 July 2012|access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> His father died suddenly at the age of 50, after suffering a heart attack, when Conaghan was a still a boy.<ref name=dlive_01072012/>
Conaghan attended Hugh Roe Boys' School and the Tech, before taking up employment as a driver, a job which necessitated travel across Ireland.<ref name=dlive_01072012/> He then became a farmer, working on his mother's family land in [[Glenfin]].<ref name=dlive_01072012/> Conaghan also ran a sports shop in the centre of Donegal Town.<ref name=dlive_01072012/>
==Career== Conaghan played with [[Four Masters GAA|Four Masters]] and Clanna Gael.<ref name=dlive_01072012/> He suggested that it was the lack of discipline he saw in the Donegal teams of the 1970s that inspired him to pursue the coaching of the county's under-21 team.<ref name=dlive_01072012/>
Conaghan managed Donegal to the 1982 [[All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship]].<ref name=dsh_07062016>{{cite news|url=http://www.donegalsporthub.com/anthony-molloy-man-mist-gets-freedom-donegal/|title=Anthony Molloy: 'The man from the mist' gets Freedom of Donegal|date=7 June 2016|accessdate=7 June 2016}}</ref> He later took over from [[Brian McEniff]] as senior manager when McEniff had led the 1983 [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]] campaign to a win.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
Over the course of his time as senior manager during the 1980s, Conaghan fell out with numerous players. He dropped [[Marty Carlin]] and [[Charlie Mulgrew (Gaelic footballer)|Charlie Mulgrew]] from his team for one year after they played for [[Letterkenny RFC|Letterkenny]] in a Forster Cup final victory at [[Ravenhill Stadium|Ravenhill]] in 1987.<ref name=dd_01042020>{{cite news|url=https://www.donegaldaily.com/2020/04/01/regrets-ive-had-a-few-the-life-and-times-of-marty-carlin/|title=Regrets, I've had a few — The life and times of Marty Carlin|date=1 April 2020|accessdate=1 April 2020|quote=Tom being the disciplinarian that he was, he cut us.}}</ref> Other players with whom he fell out during his time as senior manager included [[Declan Bonner]], [[Manus Boyle (Gaelic footballer)|Manus Boyle]], [[Matt Gallagher (Gaelic footballer)|Matt Gallagher]], [[Barry McGowan]] and [[Sylvester Maguire]].<ref name=dsh_22092017>{{cite news|url=http://www.donegalsporthub.com/declan-bonner-itll-nothing-donegals-half-mad-new-manager/|title=Declan Bonner: It'll be 'all or nothing' for Donegal's 'half mad' new manager|date=22 September 2017|accessdate=22 September 2017|quote=It was a year that saw him feel the sharp disciplinary edge of manager Tom Conaghan… 'Tom was real no-nonsense manager'.}}</ref><ref name=1990_winners/> Conaghan's spell as county manager ended with a heavy defeat to [[Tyrone county football team|Tyrone]].<ref name=1990_winners/> 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 [[Ulster Senior Football Championship]], which Donegal won.<ref name=1990_winners>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=McNulty|url=http://www.donegalsporthub.com/donegals-1990-ulster-winners-will-be-honoured-tomorrow-heres-their-story/|title=Donegal's 1990 Ulster winners will be honoured tomorrow — here is their story|date=18 July 2015|accessdate=18 July 2015}}</ref>
Conaghan later managed the Sligo seniors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hoganstand.com/Donegal/Article/Index/71468|title=Gallagher, Matt|work=[[Hogan Stand]]|date=17 July 1992|quote=Former team manager of the Donegal team, later Sligo's boss, Tom Conaghan, believed in Gallagher's versatile skills so much so that he employed the 5 feet 10 inch, 13 stone veteran in various positions in attack for the team.}}</ref> He was mentioned as a possible successor to [[P. J. McGowan]] as Donegal manager in 1997 in a dual role with [[Anthony Molloy (Gaelic footballer)|Anthony Molloy]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Sean|last=Moran|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/mcgowan-calls-it-a-day-with-donegal-1.89218|title=McGowan calls it a day with Donegal|work=[[The Irish Times]]|date=9 July 1997}}</ref> He withdrew and [[Declan Bonner]] became manager.<ref name=dsh_22092017/>
In later years, Conaghan became involved in politics and sat as an [[Independent politician (Ireland)|independent]] on [[Donegal County Council]].<ref name=dsh_07062016/> He first stood for election in [[2009 Donegal County Council election|2009]] but did not win a seat.<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=9651|title=Tom Conaghan|publisher=ElectionsIreland.org|accessdate=9 October 2019}}</ref> He won a seat in [[2014 Donegal County Council election|2014]] and retained it in [[2019 Donegal County Council election|2019]].<ref name=elecs_irl/> In 2012, he was mayor of [[Donegal (town)|Donegal Town]].<ref name=dlive_01072012/> He was elected Cathaoirleach of the Donegal Municipal District on 13 June 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oceanfm.ie/2017/06/14/donegal-councillor-says-theres-now-too-much-pressure-on-young-people-in-sport/|title=Donegal councillor says there's now too much pressure on young people in sport|publisher=[[Ocean FM (Ireland)|Ocean FM]]|date=14 June 2017|accessdate=14 June 2017}}</ref> He did not contest the [[2024 Donegal County Council election|2024 election]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Breslin |first1=Conor |title=Tom Conaghan announces his retirement from Donegal County Council |url=https://www.donegallive.ie/news/donegal-town/1422981/tom-conaghan-announces-his-retirement-from-donegal-county-council.html |access-date=14 April 2024 |work=[[Donegal Live]] |date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=25 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325204834/https://www.donegallive.ie/news/donegal-town/1422981/tom-conaghan-announces-his-retirement-from-donegal-county-council.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Personal life== Conaghan married Celine and they had three children together.<ref name=dlive_01072012/> His only son, Kevin, died as the result of an accident, at the age of 14.<ref name=dlive_01072012/> He continues to work as a farmer, work which includes lambs, cattle and crops.<ref name=dlive_01072012/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sports}}}} {{succession box | title = [[Donegal county football team|Donegal Senior Football Manager]] | before = [[Brian McEniff]] | after = [[Brian McEniff]] | years = 1986–1989 }} {{s-end}}
{{Donegal Under 21 Football Team 1982}} {{Donegal county football team managers}} {{Sligo county football team managers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conaghan, Tom}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Irish farmers]] [[Category:Four Masters Gaelic footballers]] [[Category:Gaelic football managers]] [[Category:Irish sportsperson-politicians]] [[Category:Politicians from County Donegal]] [[Category:Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland]] [[Category:Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland]] [[Category:Members of Donegal County Council]]