List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland
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The Republic of Ireland national football team, 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, who made his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Spain in 1965.[1]
The majority of these players were born in England, mostly the North West and London due to the large Irish diaspora in those areas. Most famously, in the late 1980s and 1990s the Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton sought out players in England and used what became known as the "granny rule",[2][3] 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 as well as Curtis Fleming and Stephen McPhail.[4]
United Kingdom[]
England[]
- John Aldridge
- Harry Arter
- Phil Babb
- Leon Best
- Keith Branagan
- Gary Breen
- Shay Brennan
- Alex Bruce
- Paul Butler
- John Byrne
- Lee Carsley
- Tony Cascarino
- Jeff Chandler
- Cyrus Christie
- Ciaran Clark
- James Collins
- David Connolly
- Simon Cox
- Ronan Curtis
- Liam Daish
- Rory Delap
- John Dempsey
- Terry Donovan
- Rob Elliot
- Mickey Evans
- Curtis Fleming
- Caleb Folan
- Kevin Foley
- Tony Galvin
- Jon Goodman
- Tony Grealish
- Paul Green
- Austin Hayes
- Ron Healey
- Scott Hogan
- Matt Holland
- Chris Hughton
- Will Keane
- Mick Kearns
- Alan Kelly, Jr.
- David Kelly
- Mark Kelly
- Mick Kennedy
- Paddy Kenny
- Richard Keogh
- Alan Kernaghan
- Dean Kiely
- Kevin Kilbane
- Liam Lawrence
- Mark Lawrenson
- Jon Macken
- Sean Maguire
- Terry Mancini
- Jason McAteer
- Mick McCarthy
- Jim McDonagh
- David McGoldrick
- Eddie McGoldrick
- Paul McGrath
- Alan McLoughlin
- Stephen McPhail
- Mike Milligan
- Chris Morris
- Clinton Morrison
- Jerry Murphy
- Aiden O'Brien
- Andy O'Brien
- Brendan O'Callaghan
- Kevin O'Callaghan
- Joe O'Cearuill
- Sean O'Driscoll
- Kelham O'Hanlon
- Kieran O'Hara
- Eamonn O'Keefe
- David O'Leary
- Alex Pearce
- Gerry Peyton
- Terry Phelan
- Anthony Pilkington
- Darren Potter
- Steven Reid
- Declan Rice
- Callum Robinson
- Michael Robinson
- Martin Rowlands
- John Sheridan
- Sean St Ledger
- Peter Thomas
- Andy Townsend
- Gary Waddock
- Mickey Walsh
- Jonathan Walters
- Keiren Westwood
Northern Ireland[]
- Shane Duffy
- Darron Gibson
- James McClean
- Eunan O'Kane
- Marc Wilson
Scotland[]
- Owen Coyle
- Tommy Coyne
- Charlie Gallagher
- Ray Houghton
- James McCarthy
- Aiden McGeady
- Bernie Slaven
Wales[]
Rest of the world[]
Germany[]
- Derrick Williams
Nigeria[]
United States[]
- Joseph Lapira
See also[]
- List of dual Irish international footballers
References[]
- ^ "Shay Brennan". Soccer Ireland. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ Paul, Rowan (1994). The Team That Jack Built. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Company. ISBN 1 85158 670 9.
- ^ "Irish Football and the 'Granny Rule'". Soccer Ireland. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ "Stephen McPhail: 'What has happened to me has made me a lot stronger'". Irish Independent. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- Lists of Republic of Ireland international footballers
- Lists of expatriate association football players
- Irish diaspora
- Change of nationality in sport
- Ireland–United Kingdom relations