Jim McGuinness
Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is a Gaelic football coach, and former player, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a player with, and later manager of, the Donegal county team. Since 2023, he has been manager, for the second time, of Donegal's senior team.
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Mag Aonghusa | ||||||||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||||||||
| Born | 16 November 1972 Glenties, County Donegal, Ireland | ||||||||
| Club management | |||||||||
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| Inter-county management | |||||||||
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| Inter-county titles | |||||||||
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 November 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Glenties, County Donegal, Ireland | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2012–201? | Celtic (performance consultant) | ||
| 201?–201? | Celtic (youth coach) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Beijing Sinobo Guoan (assistant coach) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Charlotte Independence (head coach) | ||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Séamus Mag Aonghusa | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Born |
16 November 1972 Glenties, County Donegal, Ireland | ||
| Nickname | Cher | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1990s–2000s ? |
Naomh Conaill Donegal Boston | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Donegal titles | 1 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
|
IT Tralee UUJ | |||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1992–2003 | Donegal | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Ulster titles | 1 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
Having guided Donegal to 2010 All-Ireland Under 21 Football Championship final, McGuinness was appointed manager of the senior county team later that year. In his time at the helm, he oversaw a Donegal team that won three Ulster Senior Football Championship titles in four seasons and led his team to the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title. The 2012 final was the county's first appearance on football's ultimate stage since 1992, and only its second All-Ireland SFC title in more than 120 years of attempts. In addition, McGuinness's Donegal was the only team to defeat Dublin in a championship match during Jim Gavin's time as manager, doing so in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final, and McGuinness's condensing of the pitch influenced how Dublin subsequently improved over the next five years. McGuinness ended his first spell as Donegal manager shortly after that defeat of Dublin.
McGuinness then became one of very few county team managers to have taken a role at a professional sports team outside Ireland. He began working with the Scottish association football club Celtic as a coach in 2012, progressing to the position of assistant manager its under-20 squad. In 2017, he took up a coaching role with Chinese Super League association football club Beijing Sinobo Guoan, until January 2018. In December 2018, he was named as head coach of USL Championship association football club Charlotte Independence. Over the course of his involvement in association football coaching, McGuinness has worked with figures such as the German Roger Schmidt (formerly Bayer Leverkusen manager) and the Spaniard Félix Sarriugarte (formerly Athletic Bilbao manager).
McGuinness's unexpected return as Donegal senior manager was announced in August 2023. Having previously achieved his UEFA Pro Licence, he was the first person to be appointed as an inter-county Gaelic games manager while holding such a qualification.