 Unable to make a regular start at Parkhead he returned to Ireland initially on loan to Finn Harps, and then spent some time in the US with FC Berne and Chicago Sting, before signing with Distillery.His robust style of defending brought the attentions of English clubs, and in August 1980 he made a £25,000 move to Bolton Wanderers.McElhinney took some time to establish himself at Bolton, but their relegation to Division Three in 1983 gave McElhinney the opportunity to establish himself in the first-team in the wake of the departure of Mike Walsh and Sam Allardyce.