Mickey Moran is a former

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

-coach, who has been manager of Kilcoo since 2019, with a background as an inter-county manager who most recently managed the Leitrim county team. He played at senior level for the Derry county team in the 1970s and early 1980s, and played his club football for Watty Graham's Glen. He is the first man to manage five different counties (two more men,

Mick O'Dwyer Michael O'Dwyer (born 9 June 1936) is an Irish retired Gaelic football manager and former player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager an ...

and John Maughan, have since followed). Moran is known to be one of the best trainers / coaches in the game and was part of the managerial backroom staff of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship-winning team, as coach of the side. In his managerial career he has had three stints managing Derry and has also managed

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

and Leitrim. He has also been in charge of various club sides and the Jordanstown university team. On 26 November 2011, he retired as Leitrim manager on health grounds. His son Conleth was on the Derry

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

side that won the 2002 Ulster Minor and All-Ireland Minor Championships.

Playing career

Inter-county

Moran was a very versatile player, evidenced by the fact he started left corner forward on Derry's victorious Ulster Championship team in 1975, and left half back when Derry successfully defended their Ulster title a year later. Moran was part of the Derry team that were beaten by

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

a point in the 1975–76

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

final. In 1978, he was chosen as an All Star replacement. He won Derry Intermediate Championship medals with Glen in 1980 and 1983.

Managerial career

Moran was Derry manager in the early 1980s at a young age. He was 29 years old and still a player when he took over the Derry managerial

rein Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband. Use for ...

s in 1980/81?. He was manager of Omagh St Enda's when they won the 1988

Tyrone Senior Football Championship The Tyrone Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the LCC Group ''Tyrone Senior Football Championship'') is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Tyrone GAA clubs. The Tyrone County Board of the Ga ...

. When

Eamonn Coleman Eamonn Coleman (1947 or 1948 – 11 June 2007) was a Gaelic football manager who had previously played for the Ballymaguigan club and the Derry county team. He had two separate stints as manager of the senior Derry county team, and his chief ...

was announced as Derry manager in September 1990/91?, Moran was appointed coach of the team. The duo helped lead Derry to the 1992 National League title, defeating Tyrone in the final. The following year Derry won the Ulster Championship and went on to win the county's first ever All-Ireland Championship. He is famed for his rousing half-time speech in the All-Ireland semi-final victory over

. Following the controversial sacking of Coleman after the 1994 campaign, Moran was appointed Derry manager in September 1994. Under his leadership, Derry won the 1994/95 National League, but unfortunately for Derry they were knocked out of the 1995 Ulster Championship at the semi-final stage and he quit soon after. Moran was in charge of

for four seasons (1996–2000) and the county "made huge strides" under his leadership, including reaching the 1997

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

final. Straight after managing Sligo, Moran with John Morrison as assistant was appointed as

manager for the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons. During his tenure selector Michael Houston quit after a public falling out with Moran. Moran's first year in charge of Donegal was a disappointing one, but 2002 was more successful, leading Donegal to the Ulster final (where they were beat by

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

) and then to the All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin. However in September 2002 he informed the county board he would not be staying for the third year of the term. He was immediately linked with the vacant Derry job. His third spell as Derry manager was from 2003 to 2005. He led Derry to the 2004 All-Ireland semi-final, but they were defeated by Kerry. He was also appointed manager of Derry Under 21s at the time. Moran was appointed manager of Mayo in October 2005. In his first season in charge he won the Connacht Championship and guided Mayo to the 2006 All-Ireland final after a brilliant comeback against

in the semi-final proving one of the Championship highlights. Unfortunately for Moran and Mayo they were beaten by

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

in the final. He stood down as Mayo boss a few weeks later, a few days after assistant John Morrison had stood down. He was linked with the vacant

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

position in September 2007, but the job eventually went to

Kieran McGeeney Kieran McGeeney (born 18 October 1971) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player, who currently manages his native county, having previously managed the senior Kildare county team from 2007 until 2013. McGeeney played football wi ...

. Moran was appointed Leitrim manager on 25 August 2008 ahead of the 2009 season, once again to be assisted by John Morrison. He resigned suddenly as Leitrim boss in late 2011, citing ill health as his reason, having already drawn up his plans for the 2012 season. Moran was manager/coach of the Jordanstown football team for a number of years and along with Adrian McGuckin guided the university to victory in the 2008

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

. He has since stepped down following that success.

References

External links

Interview with Hogan Stand magazine (September 1993)Interview with BBC Sport (May 2001)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Mickey Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football managers Glen Gaelic footballers People from Maghera