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The Republic of Ireland football
team is renowned for embracing members of the Irish Diaspora to
play for the country of their origins. Manchester-born full back
Shay Brennan
was the first non-Irish born player to be capped by the Republic
of Ireland. His parents were born in Carlow. Former Chelsea star,
John Dempsey, was another early example of a player qualifying for
an Irish cap through his parentage. During the Jack
Charlton era, as Irish soccer manager, Ireland extensively used
the Granny
Rule and it was not unusual for as many as eight or nine
of any given Republic of Ireland soccer team to have been born outside
of Ireland. During this period great
Irish soccer players and servants to the Republic's team such
as Paul McGrath,
David O'Leary, Andy Townsend, Ray
Houghton, John
Aldridge, and Tony Cascarino were all born outside Ireland.
The last soccer team to represent
the Republic of Ireland where every player was born in Ireland was
in 1975.
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