Republic of Ireland B is the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

of 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 ...

. There are no competitions for B teams. However, since 1957 the Football Association of Ireland has arranged occasional friendlies.

History

Early B internationals

The FAI first introduced B internationals during the 1950s. In an era when

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

players were getting fewer opportunities to break into the senior team, these games were seen as a chance for these players to gain some international experience. The Republic of Ireland B played their first game on October 20, 1957 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

against Romania B. They held the visitors to a 1–1 draw. Three days later, on October 23, the Romanians lost 6–0 to a Northern Ireland B team.Northern Ireland’s Footballing Greats
/ref> In August 1958 a Republic of Ireland B team travelled to

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

and beat

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

3–2. Then in September 1960, Iceland made a return visit to Dalymount Park, this time losing 2–1. On both occasions Iceland fielded their senior team and the

Football Association of Iceland The Football Association of Iceland ( is, Knattspyrnusamband Íslands, KSÍ) is the governing body of football in Iceland. It was founded on 26 March 1947, joined FIFA the same year, and UEFA in 1954. It organises the football league, Úrvalsde ...

regard these games as full internationals. In between the two games against Iceland, the Republic of Ireland B also beat

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

1–0 at Tolka Park. The South Africans also regard this as a full international. Several League of Ireland players who played in these games subsequently played for the senior

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

team. These included

Christy Doyle Christy Doyle was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for Shelbourne FC from 1957 to 1961, scoring 36 goals in 60 League of Ireland appearances. Doyle helped Shelbourne to their FAI Cup victory in 1960 as they defeated Cork Hibernians 2 ...

, who had scored against both Iceland and South Africa, Jackie Hennessy who had scored twice against Iceland and Liam Tuohy. After the game against Iceland in 1960 it would be thirty years before a Republic of Ireland B team officially played again. However, on May 24, 1971, the FAI, celebrating its

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

arranged a special game at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. This should have been a full international, however their opponents,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, only sent a B team.

Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Live ...

scored for an unofficial ''Republic of Ireland B'' team in the subsequent 1–1 draw.

1990s

Under

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 ...

, B internationals were revived and during the 1990s the Republic of Ireland B played England B twice. They recorded their biggest win to date when they beat England B 4-1 at Turner's Cross on March 27, 1990. However four years later England B avenged this defeat when they beat the Republic of Ireland B 2–0 at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

on December 1, 1994. This remains their biggest defeat to date. In between the two games against England B, the Republic of Ireland B also beat Denmark B 2–0 at

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

on February 12, 1992. Under

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...

, the Republic of Ireland B played a further three games, including two against a

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

and one against a Northern Ireland B team.

From 2006

In April 2006 the FAI announced that Pat Devlin would join the management team of

Steve Staunton Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer. He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...

as manager of the Republic of Ireland B and as

co-ordinator. The intention was for Devlin to monitor players in the league, report on potential international players and introduce them to international football at B level. Since then the Republic of Ireland B has played and drawn with Scotland B twice. In 2008, a team playing as Republic of Ireland XI overcame

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. This team was, in effect, an Ireland B team.

ResultsRepublic of Ireland B results from Rsssf
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Republic Of Ireland B National Football Team B

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