Jim McGuinness was born in Glenties, County Donegal. He was only a teenager when part of a Donegal squad that claimed the county’s first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. McGuinness was also a star of Third-Level Colleges football, winning Sigerson Cups with   Tralee I.T.  GAA in 1998 and 1999 as captain, and again as captain in 2001 with the  University of Ulster  at Jordanstown (U.U.J.).
Jim was player coach when his club captured their first ever  Donegal Senior Club  Championship title in 2005. He has represented his Province on a number of occasions winning two Railway Cup Medals, and has also represented his country in the International Compromise Rules Series against Australia in 1998, a series which Ireland won.
In 2010 Jim was manager of the Donegal Under-21 Football Team that won the Provincial Championship for the first time in fifteen years and reached the All-Ireland Final. In July of that year he was appointed  Donegal Senior Football Team  Manager.
His time at the helm with the senior team has been a major success;

in his tenure he has overseen a Donegal team that has won two consecutive Ulster Senior Football Championship titles and this year he guided his native county to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, the county’s first since 1992. Donegal’s victory in 2012 under McGuinness’s management is only Donegal’s second ever All-Ireland Senior Championship win in more than 120 years.
On the 9th of November 2012, the Scottish soccer giants  Glasgow Celtic   confirmed the appointment of McGuinness as a performance consultant. Jim went on to coach their U 16, U 19 and U 20 teams before he left in 2017 to become First Team Coach with  Beijing Guoan FC  in the Chinese Super League. Jim also assisted the Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley with preparations for the successful defense of the 2014  Ryder Cup .
In August of 2023, Jim was reappointed as Manager of the Donegal Senior Football Team.
Jim holds a Master’s of Science in Sport Psychology from  Liverpool John Moores University , School of Sport & Exercise Sciences. He previously gained a BSc (hons) Degree in Sport, Exercise and Leisure from the  University of Ulster Jordanstown , and a Higher Certificate in Health & Leisure studies from  Tralee Institute of Technology . He has previously lectured in Sports Coaching and Sport Psychology at  Limavady College, Co. Derry, Northern Ireland .

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Winner of Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year 2015

“Just want to say a massive thank you for your help and contribution in organising a very successful event for our Leadership team on Wednesday evening. Jim’s presentation was really outstanding and we have received a lot of feedback on how relevant and insightful his delivery was – particularly the messages on values, creating an open culture and adapting one’s style to different team members”  – Louise Hayes, HR Business Partner, Group Governance Risk & Group Communications Divisions, Bank of Ireland

“Jim’s talk was interesting, entertaining and inspirational, leveraging his own in-depth knowledge and experience from his career in a way that was relevant and insightful for our team”  KPMG

Jim McGuinness, born in Glenties, County Donegal, has been a driving force in Gaelic football for over three decades.
As a teenager, he was part of the historic 1992 Donegal All-Ireland Senior Football Championship team.
He also starred in Sigerson Cup victories with Tralee I.T. and University of Ulster Jordanstown, captaining both.
In 2005, Jim served as player-coach for his club’s first-ever Donegal Senior Club Championship title.
He earned two Railway Cup medals and represented Ireland in the 1998 International Rules Series , winning against Australia.
Jim led the Donegal Under-21 team to a Provincial Championship win and All-Ireland final in 2010.
Later that year, he became the Donegal Senior Football Team Manager, guiding them to two Ulster titles and their second All-Ireland win in 2012.

In November 2012, Celtic FC appointed Jim as a performance consultant. He later coached their U16–U20 squads before joining Beijing Guoan FC in the Chinese Super League . He also supported Paul McGinley in Ireland’s 2014 Ryder Cup win.
Jim returned as Donegal’s Senior Manager in August 2023. He holds an MSc in Sport Psychology from Liverpool John Moores University, a BSc (Hons) from the University of Ulster Jordanstown, and a Higher Certificate from Tralee Institute of Technology.
He has lectured in sport psychology and coaching at Limavady College.

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