Seán Thomas
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Republic of Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 24 June 1999 | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1959–1960 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 1960–1961 | Home Farm | ||
| 1961–1964 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 1963 | League of Ireland XI | ||
| 1964–1973 | Bohemian | ||
| 1966–1973 | Republic of Ireland U23 | ||
| 1973 | Rep. of Ireland | ||
| 1976–1977 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 1977–1979 | Athlone Town | ||
Seán Thomas (died 24 June 1999) was an Irish football manager.
After a short playing career with Home Farm and C.Y.M.S., a left back who had to give up playing because of an injury, he attended Loughborough University for periods from 1956-1959 to learn all the aspects of successful coaching. Thomas had short spells as coach at Sligo Rovers and Home Farm F.C. before moving to Shamrock Rovers in 1961 for Rovers' tour in the International Soccer League (1960-1965). In his 3 years at Glenmalure Park, he picked up one League of Ireland title, 2 FAI Cups and 2 League of Ireland Shields. After the 2–2 draw with Valencia CF at the Estadio Mestalla in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 10 October 1963 [2] Thomas commented "to say I am proud of the team is an understatement, I have never felt so proud of Shamrock Rovers as I have tonight. Their performance was the finest I have seen in my three years at the club".
After a bust up with the Cunninghams (Rovers' owners) at the end of the 1963–64 season, he sensationally quit the Hoops
He was Bohs' first ever manager as before Thomas Bohs had only ever had coaches or trainers and a Selection Committee of five actually picked the side. It was a homecoming of sorts for Thomas as he grew up on the Phibsborough Road which backed on to Dalymount Park and was an associate member of the club in his early years. Bohs had finished last the previous season and Thomas showed his credentials by managing the then still amateur Bohemians to a 3rd-place finish that season, just 5 points behind winners Drumcondra. This was a remarkable achievement considering the rest of the league was professional and Thomas was awarded Irish Soccer Writers' Personality of the Year. The following season, Bohs once again finished 3rd in the league and this time, won the Leinster Senior Cup and Presidents Cup. The performances of his young guns were noticed however and 8 of the amateur team left at the end of the season for the professional ranks; Turlough O'Connor and Jimmy Conway for Fulham and Larry Gilmore and Kevin Murray for Dundalk. He signed a three-year contract in April 1966. The predicted collapse never happened and amazingly the "Gypsies" went one better and finished runners-up in the 1966–67 season.
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