Derry City have moved swiftly to replace Declan Devine with Ruaidhrí Higgins as the club's new manager.
The 36-year-old has signed a three and a half year deal with the Brandywell club after Devine departed the hot-seat yesterday.
Limavady-born Higgins played for Derry for almost a decade, winning two FAI Cups and five League Cups, before joining Dundalk - where he won the league in 2014.
After taking up a scouting and then coaching role with the Lilywhites, he then became assistant manager at Oriel Park after Stephen Kenny moved to the Ireland under-21s.
Then Higgins joined Kenny's senior Ireland set-up as chief scout and opposition analyst in May of last year.
But this move will end his association with the national set-up, which had involved a lot of travelling across channel to watch Ireland players.
And Derry have expressed gratitude to Kenny and the FAI for allowing Higgins to take on the managerial role.
Kenny said: “I want to wish Ruaidhri the best of luck managing Derry City.
"He has a very bright future in the game and he'll be delighted to manage his hometown club that he played with for nine seasons, and we wish him well."
FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill added: “Ruaidhri is a very proud Derry man and a former player with the club so this is the one job in football he couldn’t refuse.
"We wish him the best of luck with the new position and thank him for his services to the senior Ireland team.”
Kenny had worked with Higgins as a player at Derry and Dundalk, and the pair are close.
So it is blow to the Ireland boss to lose a third member of his original coaching team, with Damien Duff and Alan Kelly previously departing, but Kenny understood that Higgins wanted to manage.
"We would like to put on record our thanks to Jonathan Hill, FAI CEO, and Stephen Kenny, first team manager of the Republic of Ireland, in granting permission for us to speak to Ruaidhrí," said the Foylesiders chairman, Philip O'Doherty.
"We hope our fans will get behind the new management team as we face Sligo Rovers on Saturday evening."
Speaking yesterday, Philip O’Doherty explained that he met Devine for face-to-face talks before wielding the axe.
"It was the right decision for both of us,” said O’Doherty.
“He's tried his best but we've got two points out of 18 and that's weighing on Declan as well.
“We're pretty much in a relegation dogfight after six games and that’s not where we want to be.”
In a statement, Devine said he was proud to have managed Derry City on two occasions.
"Unfortunately recent results have not been what they should have and I'm the first to accept the professional game is all about winning," he said.
Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley was surprised to see Devine go and said: “It’s not nice to see anyone lose their job.
“From watching their games beforehand and when we played them up there, you get a feel for a team and its players.
“You know if the dressing room is not there with the manager and I felt anything but that. I left there last week thinking they were still with him.”
