2 May 2025 – Ruaidhri Higgins appointed manager of Coleraine.
2 May 2026 – Higgins guides the Bannsiders to a first Irish Cup win in eight years with a 3-2 victory over Dungannon Swifts in the final.
It has been quite the year in charge of Coleraine for Higgins, and he capped it off in the best way possible, by bringing the Irish Cup back to the north coast for the first time since 2018.
The Bannsiders held their nerve to edge out the holders following a thrilling final at Windsor Park to complete what has been a good first season at the helm for the boss and his newly assembled squad.
They won all five games in the split to finish second on 80 points and secure European football for the first time since 2022 and topped it off with a cup victory in a breathless final against the Swifts.
Higgins is now only the second manager to win the Irish Cup and FAI Cup following his success with Derry City in 2022.
Speaking after the game, the 41-year-old admitted it was difficult to compare the two wins but that the Irish Cup was "very different" given recent grief he has had to work through.
Higgins' brother Kevin died suddenly in 2023 after he suffered a heart attack in his adopted home of Sweden.
His mother Mary passed away in 2025 shortly after he took up the manager's job at Coleraine following an illness and he shared an emotional embrace with his father at full-time in Windsor Park.
"My personal life has changed dramatically since I was manager at Derry and we won the FAI Cup in 2022. From my family's point of view, it's been hell really, so I think all the emotions after today was just thinking straight away about my family," he said.
"That was my first trophy as a manager in 2022 so naturally, you're absolutely buzzing, but then winning today just brings out all different kinds of emotions and I'm really happy for these boys as well because as they deserve it."
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'I think we are capable' – Coleraine eye league success next season
A huge part of Coleraine's success this season has been down to the prolific duo of Matthew Shevlin and Joel Cooper, who fittingly both found the net in the decider, with the former scoring twice.
They both finished on 26 goals in all competitions and Higgins praised both players' attitudes and their sizeable contributions.
"I think that Shevy has a reputation for being Johnny on the spot, being in the right place at the right time, but I have to say his all-round game for me has really developed as the year has gone on. He's selfless and he works extremely hard," Higgins added.
"Sometimes when two players are scoring that amount of goals, it can become an ego thing, but it's actually been the opposite. They're thrilled to bits for each other and love each other's company.
"There's a real, and it's easy saying it after winning a trophy, but there is a really, strong bond in this group. You never know as manager how it's going to go because I only knew a few of them, but I've been so taken aback by how good they are as people first and foremost."
When the party on the north coast eventually starts to tail off, attentions will soon turn to preparing Coleraine for a return to Europe and having a crack at winning the Gibson Cup.
The Bannsiders will enter the Uefa Conference League at the second qualifying round and will hope to take their late season momentum into the next campaign as they look for their first league title since 1974.
Higgins said that they don't need "wholesale changes" following two big windows last summer and in January, but they will look to add a few more to help them push on.
"You look at the top managers in the world, they never just settle whenever they've won a trophy, they go and strike again. We have to be diligent and try and get the the right people into the club," he explained.
"There's huge potential in the group and we've got so many match winners, we've got a lot of experience, we have some outstanding young players, so we have a really good blend in our group.
"We ran it really close this year, maybe if we had started our surge a week or two earlier, you never know.
"When you finish second in the league, the next step is naturally try and win it. There's no guarantees, but I think if you're asking me, is this group capable of going and winning the league I think we are."
