Liam Buckley

Buckley began his League of Ireland career with Shelbourne and signed for Shamrock Rovers as a full-time player in the 1979 close season. He scored his first goal for the Hoops against his former club at Milltown on 21 October 1979 and he went on to score another seven league goals that season. On 30 April 1980 he represented the League of Ireland against Argentina at the River Plate Stadium where Diego Maradona scored in a 1–0 defeat. Buckley played for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team in 1981. Following a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps in the 1981/82 season he finished as Rovers' top scorer with 21 goals and had a trial at Hannover 96. While the following season was a disappointment he still ended up as top goalscorer at Milltown and guested for St Patrick's Athletic in a friendly with Manchester United. In April 1983 he played for the League of Ireland XI U21s against their Italian League counterparts who included Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in their team. The 1983–84 season ended in triumph as Rovers won their first League title in twenty years. Buckley had scored 13 League goals before he broke his collar-bone against Waterford at Milltown on 26 February. However, he returned to action less than six weeks later to score the winner in the FAI Cup semi final replay against Shelbourne. He made five appearances in European competition for the Hoops. Buckley was capped at full international level against Poland and in July was transferred to…

Buckley guided Athlone to the FAI Cup semi final in 1998 in his first season as player-manager. After guiding St. Pat's to the League in 1998 Pat Dolan stepped down after one game of the 1998/99 season and appointed Buckley as manager. Pats retained their league title but two bad defeats in Europe followed by indifferent domestic form saw Buckley sacked in December 1999. He then had another spell as Athlone's manager before being appointed Shamrock Rovers manager in April 2002. In his first season, he guided Rovers to the FAI Cup Final and 3rd spot thus ensuring European football again after the UEFA Cup losses to Djurgårdens IF. Famous wins over Odra Wodzisław saw Rovers become the first Irish side to win home and away since he himself had played and scored against Fram Reykjavik in 1982. However Rovers form dropped alarmingly after the UEFA Intertoto Cup games and a seventh-place finish had the fans worried. In the 2004 season with practically a new team Rovers again struggled and Buckley was sacked in September 2004.

In 2008 Buckley took on the role of manager of Sporting Fingal a brand new team that were awarded a licence to play in the League of Ireland First Division. They finished a creditable 3rd in their first season in senior football. In their second season in 2009, Buckley guided Fingal to promotion through the play-offs, and capped off a superb campaign by also winning the FAI Cup. In January 2010 he was awarded the SWAI Personality of the Year. Buckley was…

As a player

League of Ireland: 2 Shamrock Rovers – 1983–84 St Patrick's Athletic – 1995–96 Leinster Senior Cup Shamrock Rovers – 1982 Dublin City Cup Shamrock Rovers – 1983–84 Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year: 2 Shamrock Rovers – 1981–82, 1982–83

As a manager

League of Ireland Premier Division: 2 St Patrick's Athletic – 1998–99 St Patrick's Athletic – 2013 FAI Cup: 2 Sporting Fingal – 2009 St Patrick's Athletic – 2014 League of Ireland Cup: 2 St Patrick's Athletic – 2015 St Patrick's Athletic – 2016 FAI President's Cup: 1 St Patrick's Athletic – 2014 Leinster Senior Cup: 1 St Patrick's Athletic – 2014 SWAI Personality of the Year: 2 Sporting Fingal – 2009 St Patrick's Athletic – 2013 Phillips Sports Manager of the Month: 1 St Patrick's Athletic – October 2013