1977: Made league debut for Barnsley and played in every game of their then Division Four campaign, scoring one goal.

1979: Was again an ever-present in the league, scoring two goals as Barnsley earned promotion to Division Three.

1981: Helped Barnsley win promotion to Division Two.

1983: Moved to Manchester City after 272 appearances and seven league goals for the Tykes. At the time it was the biggest transfer fee Barnsley had received.

1984: Made Republic of Ireland debut in 0-0 Lansdowne Road draw with Poland in May.

1985: Helped City win promotion to Division One.

1987: City were relegated to Division Two and in May McCarthy joined Celtic after 140 league appearances and two goals for the Blues.

1987: Made Celtic debut against Hibernian on October 3 and helped the Hoops to the double, collecting Scottish League and Cup winners’ medals.

1989: Picked up second-successive Scottish Cup winners’ medal after 1-0 final win over Rangers.

1989: Joined French club Lyon.

1990: In March, returns to England and makes Millwall debut at Luton.

Completed his transfer to the London club, who finished bottom of Division One and were relegated in May. Played in all Ireland’s matches in final stages of World Cup as the Republic reach the quarter-finals before bowing out to hosts Italy.

1991: Succeeded Bruce Rioch as Millwall player-manager in March and made last appearance for the club against Southend in final match of season. Played in 35 league games, scoring two goals, for the Lions.

1992: In June, won last of 57 Republic caps in 2-0 victory over Portugal in Boston.

1994: Steered Millwall to third place in Division One but missed out on promotion to the Premiership when beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Derby in play-off semi-final.

1995: Engineered FA Cup victories over Premiership sides Arsenal and Chelsea before bowing out to QPR. Also beat Nottingham Forest to reach fifth round of Coca-Cola Cup before losing to Swindon. Revival in league form during second half of season boosted Millwall’s Division One finishing position to 12th.

1996: Took Millwall to top of Division One before slump in form saw them drop into mid-table. Appointed Jack Charlton’s successor as Republic of Ireland manager on February 5.

1997: November – Guides side to brink of qualifying for World Cup finals in France 98, but Republic are beaten 3-2 by Belgium in play-off.

December 2: Handed new contract to manage Republic until the European Championship finals in Belgium and Holland in 2000.

2000: Despite missing out on participation in Euro 2000. McCarthy’s men appear to take a big step towards World Cup qualification when they take a 2-0 lead in Amsterdam, but Holland hit back to earn a draw.

2001: Ireland qualify for World Cup with Portugal, at the expense of Holland.

2002: May – Ireland skipper Roy Keane sent home from Far East before World Cup starts, following blazing row with McCarthy following the Manchester United midfielder’s criticism of Ireland’s facilities.

June 16 – After qualifying from Group E with Germany, Ireland’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals end in a penalty shoot-out with Spain.

June 17 – Agrees to stay on as manager of the Republic for a further two years, meaning he will remain in charge for the forthcoming Euro 2004 qualifying campaign.

October – Linked with the manager’s job at Sunderland but Howard Wilkinson ultimately fills the vacancy.

November 5 – Leaves his post as Republic of Ireland manager.