Irish Soccer Records, Facts & Statistics

The following are some interesting statistics, facts and information about the Republic of Ireland soccer team and Irish football in general.

Ireland's Longest Sequence without a Loss in Competitive Soccer Matches

For a three year period in the early 1990's, while Jack Charlton was manager of the Republic of Ireland, the team created a record by going three years without a loss.
Beginning with a 5-0 Lansdowne Road victory over Turkey on 17 October 1990 Ireland went unbeaten for 16 football matches. The unbeaten sequence for the Irish ended on 13 October
1993 when Spain beat Ireland 1-3, also at Lansdowne Road (now the Aviva Stadium).
This record without a loss included six Euro 1992 qualifiers and ten 1994 World Cup qualifiers. It also included nine wins and seven draws.
The record sequence without loss included the following matches: Turkey (H-Win); England (H-Draw); England (A-Draw); Poland (H-Draw); Poland (A-Draw); Turkey (A-Win); Albania (H-Win); Latvia (H-Win); Denmark (A-Draw); Spain (A-Draw); Northern Ireland (H-Win); Denmark (H-Draw); Albania (A-Win); Latvia (A-Win); Lithuania (A-Win); Lithuania (H-Win).

Ireland's Longest Sequence Without a Win in Competitive Football Matches

During the late 1960's and early 1970's the Republic of Ireland created another less welcome football record by going almost exactly five years without a victory in a competitive soccer match. Following a victory on 22 November 1967 over Czechoslovakia it would not be until 15 November 1972 before the Irish would register another competitive victory - a win 2-1 over France at Dalymount Park. The sequence covered 14 competitive matches and during this period the Irish team was managed by three different regimes.
For the first four football matches in this winless sequence the Ireland team was managed by a five man committee. Mick Meagan was Irish soccer manager for the next eight matches. Following two more losses Liam Tuohy brought the unhappy sequence of losses to an end. The fourteen Irish soccer matches without a win included 11 losses and just three draws.
The sequence without a win was as follows: Denmark (H-Draw); Czechoslovakia (H-Loss); Denmark (A-Loss); Hungary (H-Loss); Czechoslovakia (A-Loss); Denmark (H-Draw); Hungary (A-Loss); Sweden (H-Draw); Sweden (A-Loss); Italy (A-Loss); Italy (H-Loss); Austria (H-Loss); Austria (A-Loss); Soviet Union (H-Loss).

Ireland's Record Losing Margin in a Soccer Match

The biggest loss by a Republic of Ireland football team was a 7-0 defeat to the mighty Brazilians. This worst defeat ever experienced by an Irish international soccer team was on 27 May 1982 at Uberlandia in Brazil. Although the team did include Liam Brady it was far from the strongest team that the Republic could have fielded. It is somewhat ironic that the Irish manager at the time, Eoin Hand, has the distinction of managing the Republic of Ireland to both the record defeat and the record margin of victory - 8-0 win over Malta (see below).

Republic of Ireland's Record Winning Margin in a Football Match

The biggest margin of victory by the Republic of Ireland soccer team was an 8-0 home win over Malta. Clearly it is also the greatest number of goals ever scored by an Irish team in a match. It was the final match in the 1984 European Championships qualification campaign, played at Dalymount Park.
In this record victory the goals were scored by Mark Lawrenson (2), Liam Brady (2), Frank Stapleton (pen), Kevin O'Callaghan, Kevin Sheedy, and Gerry Daly. An interesting contrast to this result is that Ireland only managed to score a total of eight goals in the next 16 Irish international soccer matches. Lawrenson, O'Callaghan, and Sheedy all qualified to play for Ireland through the Granny Rule.

First Irish Goal Scorer

As detailed elsewhere on this site the first person to score a goal for Ireland at the senior international soccer level was Paddy Duncan. At the 1924 Paris Olympics Duncan scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Bulgaria on Wednesday 28th May 1924. From the St James Gate Football Club in Dublin, Duncan played for the Irish Free State on four occasions and scored a total of two goals.

Record Goal Scorer for Ireland

The current record goal scorer for the Republic of Ireland is Robbie Keane who has score more goals than the combined toal of the next three highest goal scorers (Niall Quinn, Tony Cascarino & Don Givens). In the last of the 2002 World Cup qualification matches the previous record had been set at 21 goals by Niall Quinn when he stooped to head the second goal against Cyprus on 6th October 2001 at Lansdowne Road. Robbie Keane equalled Quinn's total on the September 4th 2004 also against Cyprus. Keane became the outright Irish record goal scorer just over a month later when he scored two goals against the Faroe Islands during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying Campaign. Robbie Keane scored his first international hat trick for Ireland against San Marino at Lansdowne Road (now the Aviva Stadium) in a 5-0 win during Ireland's Euro 2008 Qualifying Group. He scored a second hat trick against the Faroe Islands during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Best Irish Goal per Match Ratio or Best Strike Rate

While Robbie Keane is the Irish international record goal scorer, and has an impressive goal scoring ratio, he will surely never emulate the ratio achieved by former Irish international Jimmy Dunne. From Dublin, Dunne had a playing career that lasted almost twenty years, from 1923 to 1942. His Irish international career began and finished during the 1930's making his debut in May 1930 and his final appearance for Ireland was in May 1939. In 15 appearances Dunne scored 13 goals - that is an international goals per match ratio or strike rate of 86.66% - impressive by any standards. He spent eight seasons with Sheffield United and scored 143 goals in 173 matches - a scoring ratio of 82.66%. Admittedly it is difficult to make comparisons amongst players across the football eras but by any standards Jimmy Dunne must rank as one of the greatest Irish soccer players ever.

Most Goals Scored by an Irish Footballer in an International Match

The most goals scored by an Irish international player in one match is four. The first player to achieve this feat was Paddy Moore in a qualifier match for the 1934 World Cup Finals against Belgium on 25th February 1934.
It was the first ever World Cup qualifier played by the then Irish Free State team. 35,000 fans crammed into Dalymount Park to witness Moore, of Aberdeen in the Scottish league, single handedly keep the Irish in the match. It was a remarkable achievement as Moore's career and life were already being blighted by his alcoholism which eventually led to his premature death at the age of 41. Don Givens also scored four goals for Ireland in one match in 1975.

Johnny Gavin
The First Irish Player to Score Direct from a Corner for the Republic of Ireland

John Thomas Gavin, born in 1928 and from Limerick, became the first Irish player to score direct from a corner kick in an international match when he scored against Finland in 1949. It was on the occasion of a 1950 World Cup qualifier in Dalymount Park. Ireland beat the Finns 3-0 on 08 September 1949 and Johnny Gavin scored the opening goal after 35 minutes direct from a corner kick. Con Martin, father of Mick Martin, added two further goals either side of the half time break.
Johnny Gavin was a winger who played for Jamesborough United and Limerick in Ireland and played for Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Crystal Palace in England. During his English career he scored 173 goals in 478 senior appearances. It's not know if any of these goals were scored direct from corner kicks. Gavin won seven international caps for the Irish Free State / Republic of Ireland and he was the first player from Spurs to play for Ireland. Johnny Gavin passed away in September 1979 at the age of 79.

Steve Staunton
Only Irish Player to Score Direct from a Corner for the Republic of Ireland - Twice !

Steve Staunton is both a former Irish international footballer and a former manager of the Republic of Ireland senior team. As an Irish intentional player he was hugely successful and at 102 caps he was once the outright record holder. Staunton represented Ireland at three World Cup finals - in 1990, 1994 and the 2002 World Cup. He assumed the captaincy in the latter tournament after Roy Keane was sent home following the infamous Saipan affair. During his playing career with Ireland he scored eight goals.
Remarkably, and uniquely, two of these goals were scored direct from corner kicks. During a friendly match against Portugal in Boston, USA, in June 1992, Steve Staunton scored directly from a corner kick. The Irish won the match 2-0. Amazingly Staunton repeated this feat in another competitive match against Northern Ireland less than a year later. On 31 March 1993 at Lansdowne Road (now Aviva Stadium) the Republic of Ireland beat near neighbour 3-0 in a 1994 World Cup Qualifier. Staunton scored the Irish third goal in the 29th minute direct from a corner kick.
Stephen Staunton went on to manage the Irish national team for the 2008 Euro Championship qualification campaign. Following a number of very poor performances and results, including a humiliating 5-2 loss away to Cyprus, he was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Most Irish Caps for an Outfield Footballer

On 7th June 2013 Irish football captain Robbie Keane became the most capped player of all time for the Republic of Ireland. Keane led out the Irish team at the Aviva Stadium against the Faroe Islands, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier, to win his 126th international cap. This mark eclipsed the 125 caps held by former goalkeeper Shay Given. Keane marked the occasion by scoring his second hat trick for Ireland (the first came in a Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino in 2006). Those three goals took Keane's scoring record for Ireland to 59. The victory was also Ireland's 200th victory in senior football internationals. Robbie Keane currently holds 133 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Ireland's record goal scorer won his first cap way back on the 25th March 1998, also against Easter European opposition - the Czech Republic. Although it took until his fifth match to record his first goals for his country Keane went on to become the record Irish goal scorer and reached a hugely significant milestone when he scored his 50th goal for Ireland on 4th June 2011 against Macedonia also in a 2012 Euro qualifier.

Most Caps for an Irish Goalkeeper

With 125 international caps Shay Given is the most capped goalkeeper that has ever appeared for the Republic of Ireland. Born in Lifford , County Donegal, Given made his debut in March 1996 in a friendly match against Russia at Lansdowne Road (now Aviva Stadium). Although Ireland conceded two goals on that occasion Given has delivered outstanding service to the Republic ever since. Shay Given earned his 100th cap, along with Kevin Kilbane, on 14th October 2009 in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Montenegro at Croke Park. He kept a clean sheet that evening in a 0-0 draw.

Youngest Player to Win and International Cap for Ireland

On 30 May 1971 Jimmy Holmes became the youngest ever player to win an international cap for the Republic of Ireland soccer team. He was 17 years and 200 days when he lined out Ireland against Austria in a 1972 European qualifying match. Holmes still holds the record but he probably wanted to forget the result - the Austrians trounced the Irish 1-4 on the day at Dalymount Park.

First Footballers to Represent Ireland

The first senior soccer team to represent Irish Free State (as it was known then) was in the 1924 Paris Olympics. This team was entered under the auspices of the Olympic Council of Ireland and not the FAIFS so no official caps were awarded. The first team comprised the following players:
Patrick O'Reilly (Goalkeeper), Herbert Kerr, Jack McCarthy (Bohemians FC), John Joe Dykes, Ernest McKay, Tommy Muldoon (Athlone Town), Michael Farrell, Dinny Hannon (Athlone Town), Paddy Duncan (St James Gate), Joe Kendrick (Brooklyn FC), Johnny Murray (Bohemians FC). Dykes was captain of the team.
The match was played at 1:00pm at the Stade Olympique, Colombes, paris. The match oficials were: Referee;
A. Henriot & Linesmen; Georges Vallat and Thomas Balvay (all French). The Irish won the match 1-0 with Paddy Duncan scoring the winner after 75 minutes.

Oldest Player to Win a Cap for the Republic of Ireland

Wexford's Bill Lacey became the oldest player to be capped by Ireland on 23 April 1927. He was 37 years and 211 days old. He made his debut in Dublin against Italy 'B' in a 1-2 defeat. To this day he remains the oldest débutante for a representative team from the 26 counties. Bill Lacey is also to oldest player to ever represent Ireland. Lacey was 40 years and 225 days when he won his third, and last, cap for Ireland in a 1-3 victory over Belgium in Brussels.
[There is an argument that the oldest player to ever win a cap for an Irish football team is Sean Wilson aged 64 (ex Drogheda F.C. and Glebe North). Wilson was capped on Saturday 10th September 2011, versus England in a veterans international football match.]

Longest Gap Between First and Second Caps got Ireland

Dual international Alex Stevenson won his first cap for Ireland (Irish Free State XI) on 8 May 1932 in a 0-2 victory over Holland in Amsterdam. Stevenson, who unusually would go on to play for Rangers in Scotland, had to wait a further fourteen years and four months before he won his second cap for Ireland. On 30 September 1946 the Irish took on England at Dalymount Park. The English had beaten an IFA XI 2-7 in Belfast on the previous Saturday. Unusually, two of the players (Bill Gorman and Johnny Carey) that played for Ireland at Dalymount had also played in the Belfast match two days earlier. England ran out 1-0 winners with Tom Finney scoring the winning goal.