Top 10 Irish Footballers of All Time

Irish football has produced players who defined eras at the biggest clubs in the world — not just in England, but in Italy, Spain, and beyond. This list ranks the ten who left the most lasting mark, measured by club achievement, international contribution, and the standard they reached at their peak.

The ten here were chosen on results. Not sentiment, not popularity, and not caps alone.

How We Ranked This List

Rankings like this are inherently debatable, so here is the criteria we applied:

• Peak quality — how good was this player at their absolute best, measured against the competition of their era?
• Club achievement — major trophies won, and the level at which they were won
• International contribution — caps, goals, and the significance of their performances for Ireland
• Historical impact — did this player change how Irish football is seen abroad?
• Longevity — sustained excellence across a career, not just one good season

One important note: the competitor for this article listed only seven players for a “Top 10” feature. Three names obvious to any serious Irish football follower — Liam Brady, Paul McGrath, and Damien Duff — were omitted entirely. They appear here.

Quick Comparison Table

The 10 Greatest Irish Footballers of All Time

1. George Best — The Benchmark

Born: 22 May 1946, Belfast, Northern Ireland Died: 25 November 2005 Position: Winger International team: Northern Ireland (37 caps, 9 goals)

George Best is not just the greatest Irish footballer of all time — he is regularly included among the five best players in football history, full stop. That is not Irish parochialism. It is a view shared by Johan Cruyff, Pelé, and Zinedine Zidane, among others.

He joined Manchester United at 15 after a Belfast scout described him to Matt Busby as a “genius.” He made his first-team debut in 1963 at 17. What followed was a decade of football that those who saw it still struggle to describe adequately — direct, fast, two-footed, brave, and instinctively creative in ways that couldn’t be coached.

Best won the First Division title with United in 1964-65 and 1966-67, and was central to the club’s European Cup victory in 1968 — the first English club to win it — scoring one of the goals in the final against Benfica at Wembley. That same year, he won the Ballon d’Or (European Footballer of the Year), becoming the first British player to do so.

He scored 179 goals in approximately 470 appearances for Manchester United across all competitions, playing in an era of physical defending and muddy pitches, without the protection modern rules afford attacking players.

His career at the top level was shorter than it should have been. Alcoholism, which he was open about in later life, eroded his commitment to United by his mid-twenties and he drifted through a series of smaller clubs in Britain, North America, and Ireland from 1974 onwards. He died aged 59 in November 2005.

Northern Ireland, despite Best’s presence, never qualified for a major tournament during his playing years — a source of genuine frustration for him and one of football’s great injustices.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Best’s career was defined as much by what didn’t happen as what did. He never played in a World Cup. He left United at 27 under his own power and never reached those heights again. The talent was incomparable — but the full story is not uncomplicated, and Best himself never pretended otherwise.

2. Roy Keane — The Captain Who Set the Standard

Born: 10 August 1971, Cork Position: Midfielder International team: Republic of Ireland (67 caps, 9 goals)

Roy Keane is the most decorated Irish footballer in the history of the game in terms of major trophy count. During his 12 years as a central player — and eight as captain — at Manchester United, he won seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and one UEFA Champions League, totalling 19 major trophies across his career.

He came through Cobh Ramblers in Cork, signed for Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, and moved to Manchester United in 1993 for what was then a British transfer record. What made Keane exceptional wasn’t athleticism or goals — it was his ability to control the tempo and intensity of a match through will as much as skill, and his relentless standards for himself and those around him.

His performance in the 1999 Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus — when United were 2-0 down on aggregate before turning the tie around — is considered one of the great individual midfield displays in the competition’s history. Keane was booked in that match, which meant he missed the final in Barcelona. He set his own disappointment aside and dragged the team through.

He served as Republic of Ireland captain for most of the late 1990s and 2000s, though his 2002 World Cup ended in the now-famous Saipan controversy — a public row with manager Mick McCarthy that resulted in Keane returning home before the tournament began. Ireland reached the Round of 16 without him. It remains one of Irish sport’s most discussed episodes.

He managed Sunderland and Ipswich Town after retiring in 2006 and served as assistant to Martin O’Neill with the Republic of Ireland from 2013 to 2018.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Keane’s international record does not reflect his club achievement — 67 caps and 9 goals is a modest return for the best midfielder of his generation in England. The Saipan incident, regardless of who was “right,” cost Ireland a player at their peak during their best World Cup campaign in 16 years. That is part of the record too.

3. Liam Brady — The One Who Made It in Italy

Born: 13 February 1956, Dublin Position: Attacking Midfielder International team: Republic of Ireland (72 caps, 9 goals)

Liam Brady is the most technically gifted outfield player Ireland has produced, and one of very few British or Irish footballers to not just survive but genuinely excel in Serie A during its most competitive period.

Brady developed at Arsenal, where he became one of the most influential players in their history between 1973 and 1980 — winning the FA Cup in 1979 and named Arsenal’s Player of the Year in 1979 and 1980. His left foot was considered the finest in English football, and his reading of the game — where to position, when to hold, when to drive — was closer to Italian football thinking than anything then common in the First Division.

In 1980 he moved to Juventus, where he won back-to-back Serie A titles in 1981-82 and 1982-83. He is one of a tiny number of Irish or British players to have won the Italian league. He subsequently played for Sampdoria, Inter Milan, and Ascoli before returning to England with West Ham in 1987, having spent seven years in Italian football.

He earned 72 caps for the Republic of Ireland, played under Johnny Giles and Eoin Hand, and was considered the team’s most important player through much of the late 1970s and early 1980s. He later served as head of youth development at Arsenal, overseeing the early careers of several players who went on to significant careers.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Brady’s absence from published “top 10 Irish footballers” lists is a recurring oversight in Irish sports coverage, and it is not justified by the record. Winning Serie A twice at Juventus — the dominant Italian club of that era — was an achievement no other Irish player has come close to replicating.

4. Robbie Keane — Ireland’s All-Time Record Holder

Born: 8 July 1980, Tallaght, Dublin Position: Forward International team: Republic of Ireland (146 caps, 68 goals)

Robbie Keane holds both Republic of Ireland records that matter most: 146 appearances (most ever) and 68 goals (most ever). No Irish outfield player has come close to either number. He captained the team from 2006 to 2016, a decade-long tenure that reflected both his longevity and his standing in the dressing room.

His club career was sprawling — Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan (brief), Leeds, Tottenham (two spells), Liverpool (brief), LA Galaxy, and others — but Tottenham was where he spent the most significant portion of his peak years, scoring consistently in the Premier League across two separate stints. His total of 126 Premier League goals ranks him among the division’s most prolific strikers in its history.

His most celebrated period late in his career came at LA Galaxy, where he won four MLS Cup titles and became one of the most decorated players in the league’s history. He retired from playing in 2018 and moved into coaching.

He began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, making his first-team debut at 17, and was clearly destined for the top level from an early age. His movement, link-up play, and ability to score with both feet and his head made him adaptable across different systems.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Keane’s club career never fully matched his international one — he was an excellent club striker, but rarely a defining figure at any single club the way Best or Roy Keane were at United. The international numbers, however, are beyond argument.

5. Paul McGrath — The One Who Shouldn’t Have Been That Good

Born: 4 December 1959, Ealing, London (raised in Dublin) Position: Centre-Back / Defender International team: Republic of Ireland (83 caps, 8 goals)

Paul McGrath may be the most remarkable story on this list. He was a centre-back who barely trained — chronic knee problems meant he could not put in a full week’s work between matches for most of his career — yet he was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1993, voted by his fellow professionals as the best player in English football that season. That does not happen to players who are merely serviceable.

He joined Manchester United from Dublin’s St Patrick’s Athletic in 1982 and won the FA Cup in 1985. After United, under Alex Ferguson, chose not to renew his contract due partly to injury concerns and off-field issues, he signed for Aston Villa in 1989 — where he produced the best football of his career.

His performance for the Republic of Ireland against Italy at the 1994 World Cup in New York — a match Ireland won 1-0 in the stifling heat — is considered one of the finest individual defensive displays in Irish football history. Up against Roberto Baggio and an Italian attack that had looked imperious, McGrath barely put a foot wrong.

He earned 83 caps for the Republic and was a cornerstone of Jack Charlton’s teams through Italia ’90 and USA ’94, the two most successful periods in the history of the national side.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: McGrath’s personal struggles — addiction, mental health difficulties, and the physical toll of his knee condition — are documented in his own autobiography and are part of the record. They make what he achieved on the pitch more remarkable, not less.

6. Johnny Giles — The Architect of Leeds’ Greatest Era

Born: 6 November 1940, Dublin Position: Central Midfielder International team: Republic of Ireland (59 caps, 5 goals)

Johnny Giles is the best player most people outside Ireland and Leeds have underrated. He joined Manchester United as a teenager, won the FA Cup in 1963, and was then sold to Leeds United — a decision Matt Busby came to regret — where he became, alongside Billy Bremner, one half of the finest midfield partnership in English club football through the 1960s and 70s.

Under Don Revie, Leeds won two First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup during Giles’ time at the club. Leeds were also runners-up in multiple competitions and were, for several seasons, the dominant force in English football. Giles was the technical heart of that team — precise passing, sharp positioning, and a competitive edge that opponents underestimated at their cost.

In 2004, at the UEFA Jubilee Awards, the FAI named Giles the best Irish footballer of the previous 50 years — a significant recognition given the players it passed over.

He managed the Republic of Ireland from 1973 to 1980 and again briefly in 1982-83, and later became one of the most respected football analysts in Irish media during his long tenure with RTÉ Sport.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Giles never hid the fact that he found management less satisfying than playing. He was disillusioned with boardroom politics and walked away from it permanently in 1985. The managerial record was decent but unremarkable — it’s as a player and subsequently as an analyst that his influence was felt most.

7. Damien Duff — The Winger Who Won the Title at Chelsea

Born: 2 March 1979, Ballyboden, Dublin Position: Left Winger International team: Republic of Ireland (100 caps, 8 goals)

Damien Duff is the best winger Ireland has produced in the Premier League era. Quick, direct, comfortable on either flank, and capable of producing moments of individual quality that changed games — he was the kind of wide player who caused full-backs genuine problems rather than merely stretching them.

He spent his formative years at Blackburn Rovers, where he won the League Cup in 2002, before Chelsea signed him for £17 million in 2003 under Claudio Ranieri. He won back-to-back Premier League titles at Chelsea in 2004-05 and 2005-06 under Jose Mourinho, as part of a Chelsea squad that dominated English football in that period. He was a key contributor in those title-winning campaigns, not a peripheral one.

He also played for Newcastle United, Fulham, and Aston Villa before returning to Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, where he ended his playing career. He became manager of Shelbourne after retirement.

His 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland made him one of the most capped players in the team’s history. He was central to the Ireland squads of the early-to-mid 2000s, a period when the team was rebuilding after the Jack Charlton era.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Duff’s inconsistency with injury cost him peak seasons at Chelsea and Newcastle — he was never able to sustain a full injury-free run at his best clubs for long enough to dominate in the way his ability suggested he might. What he did produce, when fit, was high quality.

8. Shay Given — The Goalkeeper Who Deserved Better Teams

Born: 20 April 1976, Lifford, County Donegal Position: Goalkeeper International team: Republic of Ireland (134 caps, 52 clean sheets)

Shay Given is the best goalkeeper Ireland has ever produced and one of the better goalkeepers of the Premier League era. His 134 international caps are the most of any goalkeeper in Republic of Ireland history, and his 52 clean sheets at international level are a record that reflects consistent, reliable excellence across two decades in an Irish green jersey.

He began at Celtic without breaking through, moved to Blackburn Rovers and had loan spells at Sunderland and Swindon before Newcastle United signed him for £1.5 million in 1997. He went on to make over 460 appearances for the club across 12 seasons — a remarkable commitment to a club that won nothing during that period. He was selected in the Premier League Team of the Season in 2001-02 and 2005-06, performances recognised by his peers when Newcastle finished 4th and 7th respectively.

He later joined Manchester City, won the Premier League in 2011-12 (his only major league title), and ended his career at various clubs before retiring.

For Ireland, he was ever-present across multiple qualifying campaigns, the 2002 World Cup — where Ireland reached the Round of 16 before losing to Spain on penalties — and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from international football in 2016.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Given spent the best years of his career at a Newcastle side that never challenged for the title and had no European success. His individual performances were consistently excellent; the team around him repeatedly was not. It is one of the more pronounced mismatches between individual quality and collective achievement in recent Irish football history.

9. Frank Stapleton — Two Clubs, Two FA Cup Finals, One Record

Born: 10 July 1956, Dublin [VERIFY: some sources list 1958] Position: Centre-Forward International team: Republic of Ireland (71 caps, 20 goals)

Frank Stapleton was a technically complete centre-forward — strong in the air, composed in front of goal, and effective as a link player in the build-up. He was Arsenal’s top scorer for three consecutive seasons in the late 1970s, scored 108 goals in 300 appearances for the Gunners, and helped them reach three FA Cup Finals.

His move to Manchester United in 1981 — against the backdrop of considerable media attention — proved justified. He won the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 with United and created history in the 1983 final when he scored against Brighton, becoming the first player to score in FA Cup Finals for two different clubs (he had scored for Arsenal against United in the 1979 final). That is the kind of record that sticks.

He represented the Republic of Ireland in 71 appearances, scoring 20 international goals, and was a key figure in the transition between the pre-Charlton era and the emergence of the talented squads of the 1980s.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: Stapleton’s name appears less frequently in modern discussions of great Irish footballers than it deserves. His record at two of England’s biggest clubs across the late 1970s and 1980s holds up well by the standards of that era. He was not a spectacular player — he was a reliable, high-quality one.

10. John O’Shea — Fourteen Trophies and a Hundred and Eighteen Caps

Born: 30 April 1981, Waterford Position: Defender / Utility Player International team: Republic of Ireland (118 caps, 3 goals)

John O’Shea is the most decorated Republic of Ireland international in terms of club honours. He spent 12 seasons at Manchester United, making 393 appearances and winning five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups, four Community Shields, and the FIFA Club World Cup — 14 honours in total. That accumulation came from being a trusted, adaptable member of Alex Ferguson’s squads rather than a guaranteed starter, but you do not spend 12 years at the level United operated at during that period without being genuinely good.

He was notably versatile — capable of playing centre-back, right-back, left-back, and in midfield — which made him valuable without always making him visible. He went on to become a regular starter at Sunderland and later Reading, extending a professional career that ran until 2019.

His 118 international appearances place him fourth in the Republic of Ireland’s all-time cap chart. He played in the 2002 World Cup squad, UEFA Euro 2012, and UEFA Euro 2016.

Career Highlights

Honest assessment: O’Shea’s inclusion at #10 is the most debatable on this list. There is a reasonable case for Steve Staunton (102 caps, equally decorated defensively), Niall Quinn (91 caps, crucial to the Charlton era), or Kevin Sheedy — but O’Shea’s tally of honours at club level, combined with 118 international appearances, earns him the place on the basis of combined achievement.

Players Who Just Missed Out

Several footballers have strong claims that don’t quite crack the top ten but deserve acknowledgement:

Steve Staunton — 102 caps, long-serving left-back and captain, part of the Italia ’90 and USA ’94 squads. The most capped Republic of Ireland defender before O’Shea.

Niall Quinn — 91 caps, 21 international goals, tall target striker who was central to the Charlton and Mick McCarthy eras. His partnership with Robbie Keane produced some of Ireland’s most productive attacking football.

Kevin Sheedy — Only 46 caps but scored one of the most important goals in Irish football history (against England, 1990 World Cup), and was a European Cup winner with Everton in 1985.

Packie Bonner — 80 caps, penalty save against Romania at Italia ’90 changed the mood of a nation. The second-best Irish goalkeeper after Given.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the greatest Irish footballer of all time?

George Best is the most commonly cited answer, and the statistical and qualitative case supports it. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1968, scored 179 goals for Manchester United in approximately 470 appearances, and is consistently included in all-time world football top-ten lists. Roy Keane and Liam Brady have legitimate claims within the context of what they achieved at club level, but Best’s ceiling was higher than either.

How many international goals did Robbie Keane score for Ireland?

Robbie Keane scored 68 goals in 146 appearances for the Republic of Ireland — both all-time records for the national team. His closest competitor in terms of goals is Niall Quinn with 21. The gap between Keane and the next highest scorer is that significant.

Did Ireland reach the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup?

No. Ireland reached the Round of 16 (second round) at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where they lost to Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Any description of Ireland reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 is factually incorrect. Their best-ever World Cup performance was reaching the quarter-finals at Italia ’90, where they lost to host nation Italy.

What made Liam Brady unusual among Irish and British footballers?

Brady is one of very few Irish or British players to have had a genuinely successful career in Serie A — not just a stint, but a period of sustained success. He won back-to-back Serie A titles with Juventus in 1982 and 1983, playing in a league that was at the time the most competitive in the world and contained some of the best players of that generation. Most British players who attempted Italian football during this era struggled to adapt. Brady did not.

How many caps did Shay Given earn for the Republic of Ireland?

Shay Given earned 134 caps for the Republic of Ireland, making him the most capped goalkeeper in the team’s history. He also recorded 52 international clean sheets. He announced his international retirement in July 2016 after 20 years in the national setup.

Why is George Best ranked above Roy Keane?

Best is ranked above Keane primarily on the basis of peak quality and individual brilliance. Keane won more major trophies across his career, but Best — at his best — operated at a level of football ability that very few players in history have matched. The Ballon d’Or, the European Cup winner’s medal, and his consistently cited place in all-time world football rankings place him in a different tier. Best’s career was shortened by issues he was open about; what he produced before that makes the comparison relatively clear.