Malone’s mentorship has made an indelible mark
Joey Malone’s hugely deserved induction into the Dundalk FC Hall of Fame recognises a high-achieving career built on consistency, leadership, and decades of service to Irish football by one of the domestic game’s genuine gentlemen.
He was honoured as part of the club’s Centenary Legends series at the game against Galway in Oriel Park on Friday, August 21st. Among those there to salute Joey were Martin Lawlor and Gino Lawless of the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association (award co-sponsors) along with Larry Wyse and Paul Newe (also pictured above) — all colleagues who shared many of the same pitches and successes.
Born in 1958, a fortnight before the Munich Air Disaster, young Joseph’s football life began in North Dublin with St Kevin’s Boys, a club known for producing players with strong fundamentals. He joined Bohemians under Billy Young in 1977 and, as understudy to Pat Byrne, made his senior debut during that same title‑winning season. He also represented Ireland at the 1978 Toulon Tournament, starting all four matches.
Like many have found, his abilities as a utility man were both a benefit and a burden. Joey operated mostly as a versatile, dependable defender and danger-sensing midfielder. With his astute reading of the game and calm distribution, he could play as a sweeper, a centre‑half, or a holding midfielder, depending on the needs of the team. However, his early years were steady rather than spectacular, though they laid the foundation for a long career.
MINDING McGRATH
With his opportunities limited, a move to St Patrick’s Athletic in 1979 changed that trajectory . Over the next five seasons he became a reliable starter, club captain, and a central figure in the team’s structure. He went on to make 109 league appearances and score eight goals for Pats, helping them capture the 1982–83 Leinster Senior Cup.
Images from Joey’s iconic LOI career
His season-long partnership with none other than Paul McGrath is something he cherishes. ‘The Black Pearl of Inchicore’ was young, raw, still learning the game and “the shyest person I ever met” when he walked into Richmond Park in 1981. Manager Charlie Walker told his skipper: “Take this kid under your wing.” Though only in his early 20s himself, Joey did exactly that, becoming a steady presence beside Paul — on the pitch and off it.
As he told the Irish Mirror in 2015: “Forget the fact he was a brilliant player, one of the best Ireland have ever produced. He’s a gentleman, big Paul.” On the field they complemented each other. McGrath’s athleticism, timing and bravery matched by Malone’s football brain and organisational ability. “Life was so easy then,” Joey recalled. “Paul did everything. His timing, his pace, his bravery. What a player… We just knew we’d lose him to England after a year”.
McGrath duly moved to Manchester United in 1982. He would become one of Ireland’s greatest ever players and “one of the best centre-backs in the world”. But their close friendship has endured for decades since, with Joey helping Paul to manage aspects of his life long beyond the final whistle.
MAJOR HONOURS
After short spells at Home Farm and Athlone, Joey followed Town manager Turlough O’Connor to Dundalk in 1985. It was at Oriel Park that he spent the most significant portion of his career.
He arrived as club captain and quickly became a central figure in a squad that blended experience with ambition. His impact across 202 appearances (and 13 goals) in all competitions, including 131 league games, saw him win the Soccer Writers’ Player of the Month in December 1985 and the Dundalk Supporters’ Player of the Year for 1985–86.
On the eve of the Mexico World Cup finals, he captained a League of Ireland XI in a warm-up friendly against qualifiers Iraq in turbulent Baghdad — a rare honour for a domestic player at the time. A hostile 100,000 crowd watched the guests narrowly lose 1-0.
Having helped secure the League Cup the previous season, Joey’s captain’s part in the 1987–88 double remains a personal highlight. He played 49 of 50 matches that season, contributing handsomely to both the League and FAI Cup wins and featuring in European ties against Ajax (full of soon-to-be Euro 88 winners), against whom he produced one of his best ever displays.
“They had Van Basten, Rijkaard, a 17-year-old Brian Roy [Dennis Bergkamp was only a sub!]. They were brilliant. All they did was work the wings, whip the crosses in. Time after time. It was diving header after diving header. The buzz you get from nights like that, from playing against men of that quality, from being part of an atmosphere where 42,000 people are on their feet screaming. You can’t forget those moments,” he told Irish Mirror reporter Robert Hynes.
CAREER EXTENSION
Lifting the 1989–90 League and President’s Cups, after five seasons in Louth, averaging no fewer than 40 games in each of those campaigns, Joey became player‑manager at Galway United in 1990-9. Aged just 33, he guided the club to their one and only FAI Cup in his first season, beating favourites Shamrock Rovers at Landsdowne Road; an achievement he regards as his greatest in football.
But after the celebrations came the hangover and Joey’s second year proved more challenging on several fronts. He left Terryland Park (since renamed after one of the heroes of ’91, Eamonn Deacy) in unhappy circumstances later that year, though he is still revered by fans in the west.
Joey went on to play for First Division Longford Town and then Waterford United in the top tier before dropping down to line out for Monaghan United, who he secured a maiden promotion with in 1993. He finished his League of Ireland playing career back at Longford in 1996, having made 339 league appearances and found the net 19 times over a span of 19 seasons.
After spending a year as Athlone manager in 1998, Joey pursued his passion for coaching. Having started taking his badges as an 18-year-old — “Billy Young gave me such a grounding in professionalism, and I brought that right throughout my career” — he earned a UEFA A licence and was a senior coach within the FAI during Jack Charlton’s tenure.
In 2005, Joey recounted in the Mirror newspaper how he doubled as Paul McGrath’s unpaid minder during that halcyon decade, “an unwritten bond between two old buddies. The rules were simple. If Paul needed me, I was there for him.”
Joey later scouted for clubs including Aberdeen, Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday and worked for many years at DIT as a print technical assistant. He also continued coaching at grassroots and senior levels, including at Ballymun United and, more recently, Shelbourne, alongside another great old pal, Noel King.
Having served as chair of the PFAI while leading Dundalk to the double, being ahead of the curve in calling for Premier Division games to be played under lights on Friday nights, Joey kept playing until he was 50, dropping into the Leinster Senior League and junior over‑35s level. He has also given of his time, know-how and contacts to support many charity events and worthy local causes over the years.
Among friends: Centenary Legend Joe Malone at Oriel Park with club CEO Joe McGuinness and fellow ex-Lilywhite Terry Eviston of the IPFBA. Pics: Dundalk FC
DUE RECOGNITION
Joey Malone’s popularity and legacy are defined by his reliability, leadership, humanity, and unwavering commitment to Irish football. The captain’s armband was the perfect fit for a natural leader in the dressing-room: skippering a legendary side during Dundalk’s most successful era before managing Galway to major trophy glory, and coaching and scouting for decades after.
As Jonathan Browne recently told readers of the Irish Daily Mail, happily, after a protracted stay in Beaumont Hospital and four months of chemotherapy, Joey is back coaching with the Leinster FA and sitting on the committee of TUD’s new National League side.
As the man himself once said of his prolonged involvement in the beautiful game, “It’s a passion… just one of the most important things in your life. It always has been for me, anyway.” And clearly it still is.
Joining the Dundalk Hall of Fame is only fitting for a true football person who forged his reputation as a club and League of Ireland icon by being the consummate professional. His influence has been vast and we are proud to have Joey Malone as a member of the IPFBA.
- See Joey’s profile on the Dundalk FC Who’s Who site
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