This is a list of footballers who have played for the Republic of Ireland national football team. The Irish Football Association (IFA) was formed in 1880, prior to the partition of Ireland. The original Ireland national team was selected by the IFA and included players from all of Ireland. Following the creation of the Irish Free State, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was set up and it picked its own national team. Until 1950, both Irish associations picked players from the whole of the island, which resulted in there being several 'dual internationals' (33 originating from the territory of the Irish Republic and six from the territory of Northern Ireland). After complaints by the FAI against this practice being used by the IFA during 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, FIFA decreed that each association should select teams based on their own part of Ireland, and the IFA team became known as Northern Ireland from then on.
During the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification, a late goal by England allowed them to qualify at Ireland's expense. After reaching the quarter-finals of the 1964 European Nations' Cup, Ireland lost a 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off against Spain. A run of poor results in the late 1960s and early 1970s followed until Johnny Giles became their first player-manager. This was followed by the debut of a young Liam Brady and results improved markedly. The side missed out on the 1978 FIFA World Cup by two points, having defeated France at home during qualification. Eoin Hand took over as manager for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Ireland again narrowly missed out on qualification, finishing behind France on goal difference. Disappointing qualifying campaigns for both UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup followed, ending Hand's time in charge.
Ireland then appointed Jack Charlton, who led the team to its most successful period, qualifying for two World Cups and a European Championship.SOCCER; "Ireland Brings Cup Team With an English Accent to America", The New York Times, 29 May 1994. Ireland's first appearance at a major finals tournament came in UEFA Euro 1988. Ireland beat England 1–0 and came within eight minutes of qualifying for the semi-finals. Ireland also qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Draws in the group stage against England, Egypt and the Netherlands was enough to earn a place in the second round, in which the team beat Romania on a penalty shootout. Ireland were then beaten 1–0 by Italy in the quarter-final. During the tournament, the team had an audience with Pope John Paul II. After missing out on UEFA Euro 1992 despite being unbeaten in qualifying, Ireland qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The team beat Italy 1–0 in their opening game and reached the second round, losing 2–0 to the Netherlands. Ireland missed out on UEFA Euro 1996 after losing 2–0 to the Netherlands in a play-off at Anfield. It was Charlton's final game as manager.
Under new manager Mick McCarthy, Ireland missed out on the next two major tournaments, losing play-offs to Belgium and Turkey. Ireland took on Portugal and the Netherlands in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification and ended the group in second place. Ireland then qualified for the World Cup by winning a play-off with Iran. Despite the loss of captain Roy Keane due to an infamous public spat in Saipan, the team progressed to the second round. After the match was drawn, Ireland lost 3–2 in a penalty shootout against Spain. After a poor start to qualifying for UEFA Euro 2004, McCarthy was replaced by Brian Kerr. He was unable to guide the side to Euro 2004 or the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was sacked in October 2005. Kerr was replaced by Steve Staunton in January 2006, but the team failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 and Staunton lost the position in October 2007.
Veteran Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni was appointed manager in February 2008. Trapattoni went through all ten first round 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying games unbeaten, winning four of the ten games. Ireland lost out on a place in the World Cup after a controversial loss to France in the play-offs. In their Euro 2012 qualifying group Ireland finished second and qualified by winning a play-off against Estonia. Ireland lost all three matches at Euro 2012, against Croatia, Spain and Italy. They next qualified for a major tournament at UEFA Euro 2016 under manager Martin O'Neill, drawing with Sweden and losing to Belgium before beating Italy to qualify for the Round of 16, where they took an early lead against hosts France were eliminated 2–1.
With the Good Friday agreement of 1998 confirming that citizens of Northern Ireland could self-identify as British, Irish or both, a small number of players from that territory have been selected for the FAI team; however, the vast majority of players born outside the Republic of Ireland have been recruited from the large Irish diaspora in Great Britain.
Key 2026 caps awarded for the national team2025 caps awarded for the national team2024 caps awarded for the national teamCapsAppearances
Pos PositionsGKGoalkeeperDFDefenderMFMidfielderFWForward
A
Player Caps Goals DebutLast or most recent match Date Opponent Date OpponentDF 6 0 31 March 2026 27 September 2026 DF 1 0 16 May 2026 16 May 2026 DF 16 0 16 June 1946 4 October 1953 FW 69 19 26 March 1986 9 October 1996 FW 1 0 16 May 2026 16 May 2026 FW 5 1 7 November 1954 24 May 1964 DF 16 1 26 October 1979 19 October 1988 MF 35 3 19 November 2008 14 November 2012 DF 1 0 8 December 1935 8 December 1935 FW 1 0 10 September 2023 10 September 2023 DF 1 0 7 November 1937 7 November 1937 MF 19 0 7 June 2015 12 October 2021 MF 15 1 26 March 2024 24 September 2026
B
Player Caps Goals DebutLast or most recent match Date Opponent Date OpponentDF 35 0 23 March 1994 7 September 2002 DF 1 0 27 September 2026 27 September 2026 FW 1 0 24 May 1964 24 May 1964 FW 2 0 27 October 1965 25 May 1966 FW 6 2 21 August 2002 16 November 2004 FW 2 0 12 February 1928 20 April 1929 GK 22 0 27 March 2021 26 March 2024DF 15 0 3 June 1984 12 November 1986 DF 2 0 23 May 2007 26 May 2007 FW 1 0 20 April 1929 20 April 1929 DF 1 1 16 December 1934 16 December 1934 FW 7029 May 2009 2 March 2010 GK 81 0 24 May 1981 15 June 1996 DF 1 0 28 March 2017 28 March 2017 MF 2 0 5 April 1978 12 April 1978 FW 5 4 18 September 1938 23 May 1939 DF 2 0 21 March 1926 23 April 1927 MF 72 9 30 October 1974 6 May 1990 DF 6 0 25 September 1963 13 May 1964 MF 73 10 11 September 2012 26 March 2026 GK 1 0 11 February 1997 1 February 1997 DF 63 6 29 May 1996 24 May 2006 GK 5 0 17 May 1937 4 May 1947 MF 1 0 5 June 2026 5 June 2026 DF 1 0 24 March 1965 24 March 1965 DF 19 0 5 May 1965 8 December 1970 MF 2 1 17 May 1937 23 May 1937 FW 1 3 14 June 1924 14 June 1924 DF 39 5 1 June 2017 31 March 2026 DF 3 0 25 September 1963 24 May 1964 DF 2 0 23 May 2007 19 November 2008 FW 2 0 23 May 1984 8 August 1984 DF 1 0 17 October 1951 17 October 1951 MF 3 1 28 May 2018 11 September 2018 DF 1 0 20 April 1929 20 April 1929 DF 1 0 25 February 1934 25 February 1934 DF 1 0 23 February 2000 23 February 2000 MF 2 0 21 August 2002 16 October 2002 FW 3 1 20 April 1929 25 February 1934 MF 4 0 10 September 2019 18 November 2020 DF 1 0 12 February 1928 12 February 1928 FW 2 0 28 April 2004 24 May 2006 FW 23 4 5 February 1985 17 February 1993 DF 3 0 26 April 1931 8 April 1934 MF 8 0 23 May 1984 27 May 1986 DF 1 0 26 April 1931 26 April 1931 DF 14 0 15 October 1969 21 October 1973
C
Player Caps Goals DebutLast or most recent match Date Opponent Date OpponentFW 3 0 5 February 1985 26 May 1985 MF 11 0 30 May 1971 1 June 1977 GK 2 0 21 March 1926 12 February 1928 FW 4 2 11 June 2024 27 September 2026 DF 36 14 28 October 1953 22 February 1967 DF 3 0 29 April 1992 23 March 1994 DF 29 3 7 November 1937 25 March 1953 DF 2 0 1 November 1959 3 March 1960 DF 44 0 28 April 1999 22 August 2007 FW 2 0 24 April 1949 8 September 1949 DF 17 1 15 May 1968 6 June 1973 MF 39 0 11 October 1997 6 February 2008 FW 88 19 11 September 1985 17 November 1999 MF 2 0 26 September 1979 29 October 1979 DF 3 0 26 April 1931 8 April 1934 DF 30 2 18 November 2014 8 June 2022 DF 36 2 8 February 2011 27 March 2021 DF 2 0 29 May 2004 3 June 2004 FW 1 0 12 April 1978 12 April 1978 DF 2 0 23 May 1948 30 May 1948 DF 1 0 10 May 1950 10 May 1950 DF 3 0 30 May 1951 7 March 1954 MF 11 3 30 September 1946 1 June 1952 MF 1 0 9 October 1949 9 October 1949 DF 81 1 8 February 2011 5 June 2026 FW 2 0 10 May 1950 30 May 1951 GK 10 0 27 March 2002 26 May 2007 GK 2 0 14 June 1924 23 April 1927 FW 14 2 10 September 2019 12 October 2021 DF 40 3 12 October 2021 5 June 2026 MF 5 0 24 March 1965 7 October 1969 FW 9 0 12 October 2019 7 September 2023 FW 41 9 29 May 1996 8 October 2005 FW 1 0 17 October 1936 17 October 1936 MF 1 0 21 March 1926 21 March 1926 FW 26 2 7 October 1969 24 April 1977 MF 20 3 23 October 1966 24 April 1977 MF 4 0 22 May 1949 13 November 1949 GK 1 0 16 June 1946 16 June 1946 FW 30 4 24 May 2011 10 June 2014 FW 1 0 20 April 1994 20 April 1994 MF 5 0 13 November 2025 27 September 2026 FW 22 6 25 March 1992 29 October 1997 FW 2 0 20 November 2002 30 April 2003 MF 47 0 10 September 2019 16 November 2025 MF 19 5 28 October 1953 7 May 1961 MF 1 0 30 May 1951 30 May 1951 DF 4 0 28 May 2010 6 February 2013 DF 72 0 24 April 1996 12 October 2005 FW 17 8 3 October 1956 25 September 1963 FW 7 0 15 November 2018 3 June 2021 DF 1 0 16 November 1952 16 November 1952
D
Player Caps Goals DebutLast or most recent match Date Opponent Date OpponentDF 5 0 19 February 1992 12 June 1996 MF 48 13 16 May 1973 15 October 1986 DF 2 0 8 May 1932 5 May 1935 DF 2 0 5 April 1978 12 April 1978 DF 1 0 8 September 1949 8 September 1949 FW 4 4 17 October 1936 22 May 1938 DF 4 0 28 April 1982 30 May 1982 DF 9 0 24 May 2008 25 May 2014 MF 11 0 25 March 1998 31 March 2004 MF 2 0 23 May 1987 19 October 1988 DF 19 1 7 December 1966 25 June 1972 MF 11 2 18 June 1972 24 April 1977 FW 4 0 8 September 1949 13 November 1949 DF 13 0 26 September 1979 17 October 1984 MF 1 0 5 June 2026 5 June 2026 DF 33 4 26 April 2000 12 October 2005 DF 53 3 23 March 2018 6 September 2025 FW 10 3 16 December 1934 10 October 1937 FW 2 1 10 October 1937 18 September 1938 DF 5 0 7 November 1954 8 May 1957 FW 2 0 26 September 1979 21 September 1981 MF 8 0 28 April 2004 17 October 2007 FW 5 0 3 June 1924 26 April 1931 FW 1 0 5 April 1959 5 April 1959 GK 4 0 23 May 2007 2 June 2018 MF 1 0 21 March 1926 21 March 1926 FW 62 14 1 March 2006 28 March 2017 DF 1 0 13 December 1931 13 December 1931 MF 1 0 6 June 2004 6 June 2004 MF 100 8 25 March 1998 18 June 2012 FW 1 0 10 May 1950 10 May 1950 DF 61 7 6 June 2014 4 June 2024 MF 5 1 23 April 1927 7 November 1937 FW 4 2 28 May 1924 14 June 1924FW 15 13 11 May 1930 23 May 1939 DF 1 0 30 May 1971 30 May 1971 DF 3 0 23 March 2025 26 March 2026 DF 2 0 5 May 1935 8 May 1935 GK 5 0 5 May 1965 16 November 1966 DF 80 8 26 April 2000 15 October 2013 DF 15 0 4 October 1952 18 May 1960DF 3 0 10 May 1956 25 November 1956 DF 33 0 8 April 1962 29 October 1975 DF 2 0 28 October 1970 8 December 1970 MF 23 0 10 November 1965 30 May 1971 GK 14 0 1 November 1959 25 October 1964 DF 3 0 28 May 1924 3 June 1924
E
Player Caps Goals DebutLast or most recent match Date Opponent Date OpponentMF 13 0 7 September 2023 16 November 2025 DF 1 0 23 April 1986 23 April 1986 DF 39 3 28 March 2017 24 September 2026 FW 1 0 20 April 1929 20 April 1929 FW 24 2 16 June 1946 27 November 1955 FW 1 0 24 September 2026 24 September 2026 GK 4 0 25 May 2014 29 March 2016 FW 9 1 16 November 2004 2 September 2006 FW 7 3 5 May 1935 6 December 1936 FW 1 0 16 May 2026 16 May 2026 FW 1 0 11 October 1997 11 October 1997
F