McLaughlin's sixteen and a half-year reign in England came to an end when in November 1974 he accepted an offer to player/manage
Dundalk and that was to be the beginning of his managerial career. As a manager, he had great success and during his nine-year stay at
Oriel Park he led them to three Leagues and the
FAI Cup three times including the double in the 1978–79 season. Dundalk performed commendably in Europe during this period. In the 1979–80 season they reached the last 16 of the European Cup and were drawn with
Celtic. Following a 3–2 defeat in Glasgow, Dundalk drew 0–0 at home and missed an opportunity to score a goal that would have put them through on away goals. In the 1981–82 Cup-Winners' Cup campaign, Dundalk once more reached the last 16 and lost 3–2 on aggregate to
Tottenham Hotspur. On 21 June 1983, McLaughlin took over at
Shamrock Rovers and led the
Milltown club to three League Championships and two FAI Cups in three seasons including two back to back doubles. On 13 May 1986, he left Rovers to go home and manage Derry City where he led the team to a domestic treble in 1989. His managerial spell at the club lasted from 1986 until 1991. He later went on to co-manage
Shelbourne with
Pat Byrne where another League was won in 1992. In November 1993 he took over at
Drogheda United where he stayed for three seasons getting relegated twice and promoted in 1994–95. He had another spell with Dundalk but could not prevent them from being relegated and so his managerial career came to a close in May 1999. He became a director in Oriel Park in July 1996. He also took charge of the
League of Ireland XI and the Irish Olympic side. He was Manager of the Year in 1986 and in February 2002, McLaughlin was awarded the
FAI Special Merit Award in recognition of his achievements and dedication within the domestic game. Later in the year, he was the Shamrock Rovers Hall of Fame recipient and in 2005, he was inducted into the Shamrock Rovers 'Legends'. In January 2010 he was awarded the SWAI Special Merit Award in recognition to his contribution to Irish football. ==Personal life and death==