Sean McCaffrey

SEAN McCAFFREY (centre) took over as Dundalk manager in December 2011 with John Whyte (left) and Darius Kierans (right) as his backroom team.

McCaffrey replaced Ian Foster, who had been appointed as manager of Dundalk FC prior to the 2010 season.

Monaghan native McCaffrey, born on Saturday 12 September 1959, played for local club Monaghan Town before he crossed the water to join Leicester City. However, after failing to make the grade there, he returned home and got involved in with the Monaghan Town Youths.

In 1979, at the age of just 20, McCaffrey played a role in the formation of Monaghan United. The club progressed into the B Division in 1983, with McCaffrey in charge, before being elected to the League of Ireland First Division two years later.

John Murphy would manage Monaghan in their first year in senior football as McCaffrey went to England. However, a year later, he returned as manager, before a falling out led to his departure in midseason.

He formed Oriel Celtic FC at that time and the schoolboy club quickly developed from one team to 18 within a couple of seasons, and went on to win several European competitions, including the Holland Cup, the Dana Cup, the Italy Cup and the Marne Trophy, between U16 and U18 level.

As a result of the contacts he made on his travels, McCaffrey was able to invite the youth teams of clubs like Celtic, Manchester United and Ajax to play in Monaghan.

In 1999, McCaffrey joined the FAI as a Regional Development Officer on a part-time basis. Two years later, Brian Kerr and Noel O’Reilly brought him in to coach with the Republic of Ireland underage teams.

In early 2003, when Kerr was appointed Ireland’s senior manager, McCaffrey took over as caretaker boss of the U17s and U19s. The following November, he was handed the job permanently, and went on to spend seven years at the helm.

During that period, McCaffrey capped 29 players that would go on to play in the senior international side, including Darron Gibson, James McCarthy, Glenn Whelan, Stephen Ward and Shane Long.

He also led the Irish to success in three tournaments – the Nordic Cup in Iceland with the U17s, where they defeated England 1-0 in the final in 2005, the La Manga Tournament in Spain with the U19s in 2006, and the Lisbon International Tournament in Portugal with the U18s in 2007.

In March 2008, McCaffrey guided the U17s to the European Championships.

In February 2006, he had received the FAI Special Merit award for his services to football.

McCaffrey is currently a UEFA A-Licence holder. He has an Honours Degree in Psychology, a Post-Graduate in Management, and a Masters of Business Administration. He will begin his UEFA Pro-Licence course in February 2012.