The

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

, as governed by the Football Association of Ireland, has featured many players who were not born in the Republic of Ireland. The first player to be capped after qualifying through his parents' nationality was

Shay Brennan Seamus Anthony "Shay" Brennan (6 May 1937 – 9 June 2000) was an Irish footballer in the 1960s. He was a full back for Manchester United. His first game for the club came in an FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 1958; this ...

, who made his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Spain in 1965. The majority of these players were born in England, mostly the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

due to the large Irish diaspora in those areas. Most famously, in the late 1980s and 1990s the Republic of Ireland manager

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

sought out players in England and used what became known as the " granny rule", with the stronger pool of talent helping the team to qualify for several tournaments, which had never been achieved prior to Charlton's appointment. There were a few England-born internationals in the squads of that era who had been raised in Ireland and learned to play football at local clubs, not least Paul McGrath and

David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...

as well as

Curtis Fleming Curtis Fleming (born 8 October 1968 in Manchester) is an Irish professional football manager and former player, who is currently the assistant manager of Championship club Bristol City. Fleming played right back and won international honour ...

and Stephen McPhail.

United Kingdom

England

Northern Ireland

Shane Duffy Shane Patrick Michael Duffy (born 1 January 1992) is an Irish professional association football, footballer who plays as a defender (association football), defender for club Fulham F.C., Fulham and the Republic of Ireland national football tea ...

Darron Gibson Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for League Two club Salford City, and formerly for the Republic of Ireland national team. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, ...

James McClean James Joseph McClean ( ; born 22 April 1989) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Wigan Athletic and the Republic of Ireland national team. McClean played with Trojans, Institute, his hometown ...

Eunan O'Kane Eunan Charles O'Kane ( ; born 10 July 1990) is a professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Leeds United. Born in Northern Ireland, he represented the country at various youth international levels before switching to t ...

* Marc Wilson *

Mark Sykes Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician, and diplomatic advisor, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First Wo ...

Scotland

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

Tommy Coyne Thomas Coyne (born 14 November 1962) is a former football player and manager. Coyne played for several clubs, mostly in Scotland, including Clydebank, Dundee United, Dundee, Celtic and Motherwell. He was the top goalscorer of the Scottish ...

* Charlie Gallagher *

Ray Houghton Raymond James Houghton (born 9 January 1962) is a former professional footballer and current sports analyst and commentator with RTÉ Sport. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably playing for Liverpool where he won two First Division titles ...

* Mikey Johnston * James McCarthy *

Aiden McGeady Aiden John McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian. Born in Scotland, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team from 2004 until 2017. He started his c ...

Bernie Slaven Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker. He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances over the course of an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland. He star ...

Wales

* Kevin Sheedy

Rest of the world

Germany

* Derrick Williams

Nigeria

* Chiedozie Ogbene

United States

Joseph Lapira Joseph Lapira (born August 13, 1986, Rochester, New York) is a retired soccer player. Born in the United States, Lapira is a one time international for the Republic of Ireland national football team. Besides the United States, he has played in No ...

References

{{Association football players Lists of Republic of Ireland international footballers

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Association football player non-biographical articles Irish diaspora