Emmett McLaughlin was a native of County Donegal on the Inishowen Peninsula, where he first played football in the local district leagues. He debuted in the Football League of Ireland for Bohemians FC in the 1943-44 season, and also played with St. James’s Gate and Dundalk FC. While in Dublin, McLaughlin attended university and medical school at University College Dublin, during which time he was a member of the 1948 Irish Olympic team along with fellow Bohemians teammates Brendan O’Kelly, Bobby Smith and Paddy Kavanagh. After graduating from medical school in the mid-1950s, McLaughlin emigrated to London where he practiced until his death in 1988.