Liam Tuohy – Second Irish Soccer Manager

Liam Tuohy

In October 1971 Liam Tuohy became the second manager of the Republic of Ireland football team when he replaced Mick Meagan.

The challenge at the time was enormous as Irish international soccer was in disarray and the senior team had not won a match for almost five years.

Tuohy played most of his football career with Shamrock Rovers but had also played for Newcastle United. He also had management experience with Rovers and Dundalk FC .

Liam Tuohy- Football Background

Liam Tuohy was born in Dublin 27th April 1933. He signed for League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers in 1951 as an outside left. In 1960 he signed for Newcastle United making 38 appearances and scoring nine goals.

In 1963 Tuohy returned to Shamrock Rovers and continued to play until 1969. In his time with Rovers Liam Tuohy won the League of Ireland first division championship on four separate occasions.

He was also part of the team that won the FAI Cup an amazing six times in a row between 1964 and 1969. Tuohy won the Cup a total of eight times.

Tuohy was an integral part of the most successful era for Shamrock Rovers ever.

Liam Tuohy – International Career

Liam Tuohy won eight caps for the Republic of Ireland making his Irish international debut against the old Yugoslavia on 19 October 1955. Ireland lost the match 4-1. Tuohy was not capped again until April 1959 when he was a goal scorer in a 2-0 victory over Czechoslovakia. This match and a 4-2 defeat of Iceland, in a 1964 Nations Cup qualifier, were the only occasions that Tuohy tasted victory in the green jersey of Ireland. He scored two of his four goals for Ireland against Iceland scoring both home and away. Liam Tuohy’s last match for the Republic of Ireland was a 0-2 defeat to Belgium at Dalymount Park in a friendly.

Liam Tuohy as Republic of Ireland Manager

Liam Tuohy was appointed Republic of Ireland manager in 1971. He had prior experience in managing Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk in the League of Ireland. He combined his role as Irish manager with that of manager of Rovers in addition to his day job as a sales manager for ice cream manufacturer HB. On top of this workload Tuohy had to contend with the fact that the FAI routinely arranged Irish international matches for the day after league matches allowing virtually no time for preparation or recuperation from knocks and injuries.

Tuohy’s First Match as Irish Manager

Tuohy’s first match as manager of the Irish team was the last fixture in the 1972 European Championship qualifiers away to Austria. In the previous five matches Ireland had amassed just one point and the Austrians had beaten the Irish 1-4 in Dublin. Circumstances dictated that Tuohy had to award seven new caps in a team that was almost exclusively drawn from the League of Ireland. Somewhat predictably Ireland were trounced 6-0 by a strong Austrian team. Following this inauspicious start to his career as Irish manager Liam Tuohy determined to work with administrators in the FAI to ensure that future international matches would be played midweek.

Brazilian Independence Cup

In order to foster a genuine team spirit within a squad, that was made up of home-based players and players from English clubs, Tuohy decided to enter the Brazilian Independence Cup. It was a one-off competition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Brazil’s independence in 1972. The Republic of Ireland were drawn in a group with Chile, Ecuador, Iran and Portugal. On the 11th June 1972 Ireland recorded it’s first victory on a football pitch since November 1967 when the Irish team came back from 1-0 down to beat Iran 2-1. This was followed up a week later with a 3-2 win over Ecuador. Although Ireland lost their next two matches against Chile and Portugal, both 2-1, the team was competitive and the tournament helped to restore confidence. It also demonstrated that, with correct and adequate preparation, Ireland could compete.

Liam Tuohy – 1974 World Cup Qualification Campaign

In the 1974 Word Cup qualification group Ireland were drawn in a small group with just Russia and France. Tuohy’s Irish team lost their opening group match at Lansdowne Road (now the Aviva Stadium) 1-2 to Russia. Tuohy followed this up with a home win by the same scoreline against the French with goals from Terry Conroy and Ray Treacy. As the French had previously beaten Russia, the group was still wide open but Ireland faced an uphill task with two away matches remaining.

Liam Tuohy Resigns as Republic of Ireland Manager

At the beginning of December 1972 Liam Tuohy sent shock waves through Irish soccer scene when he announced his resignation from the position as Irish manager. The pressure of the Irish job, plus managing Shamrock Rovers, and his sales manager job, had become too much for Tuohy. Something had to give. Following extensive persuasion Tuohy agreed to see out the remaining two World Cup qualifiers, and a friendly against Poland, that were all scheduled for May 1973.

Ireland Fail to Qualify for 1974 World Cup

In the return match with Russia Ireland were beaten 1-0 with a 58th minute goal from Onischenko in Moscow. This was followed by a 2-0 loss to Poland in the friendly in Wroclaw. In the last match of the Liam Tuohy reign as Irish manager Ireland drew 1-1 in Paris with France through a Mick Martin equaliser in the last ten minutes. Ireland finished second in the group behind Russia who won three of their four matches.

Liam Tuohy’s Term as Ireland Manager Comes to an End

Though Liam Tuohy’s reign as Republic of Ireland manager was short and took in just ten matches he had achieved a lot in helping to restore the morale and reputation of the Irish soccer team. Although his record only shows three victories he did much to improve the backroom set up and the performances on the pitch. The days of 6-0 defeats at the feet of the likes of Austria had been consigned to the past.

Although Tuohy had finished with the management of the senior Irish time he did return in 1981 to manage Republic of Ireland underage teams. He achieved notable success including finishing fourth in the Under 19’s 1984 European Championships. He resigned in controversial circumstances in 1986 when the newly appointed senior team manger, Jack Charlton, came into the Under 19’s dressing room and effectively undermined Liam Tuohy’s authority.

Liam Tuohy’s Record as Irish Manager

Republic of Ireland Football Managers – Irish Manager’s Records

Mick Meagan – Liam Tuohy – Sean Thomas – John Giles – Alan Kelly Snr – Eoin Hand – Jack Charlton
Jack Charlton’s Playing Style – Jack Charlton’s Appointment – Mick McCarthy – Manager Don Givens
Brian Kerr – Martin O’Neill – Stephen Staunton – Giovanni Trapattoni – Noel King

Irish Football Players

John Aldridge – George Best – Packie Bonner – Liam Brady – Shay Brennan – Noel Cantwell – Johnny Carey
Gerry Daly – Mal Donaghy – Derek Dougan – Damien Duff – Tony Dunne – Eamon Dunphy – Johnny Giles
Shay Given – Don Givens – Harry Gregg – David Healy – Ray Houghton – Denis Irwin – Pat Jennings
Robbie Keane – Robbie Keane Caps Goals – Robbie Keane Penalties Ireland – Roy Keane – Alan Kelly
Mark Lawrenson – Con Martin – Mick Martin – Kevin Moran – David McCreery – Paul McGrath
Sammy McIlroy – Jimmy Nicholl – David O’Leary – John O’Shea – Niall Quinn – Kevin Sheedy – Frank Stapleton Steve Staunton – Billy Whelan – Ronnie Whelan – Norman Whiteside