Paul Fennessy

N.B. We are imposing the rule that, to be eligible for this list, a player must have made at least 100 Premier League appearances.

So, while they have all played in the English top flight, the likes of David O’Leary, Ronnie Whelan, Mark Kennedy, Alan Kelly, Kevin Moran, Josh Cullen, Dara O’Shea, Keith Andrews, Evan Ferguson, Caoimhín Kelleher, John Egan and Enda Stevens fall short as they are below this number.

From the resulting list, while a player’s overall talent level is taken into account, the primary factor in determining an individual’s position is how well they fared in the Premier League. So, for instance, Mark Kinsella indisputably had a better international career than Damien Delaney but had less impact at Premier League level, so is below him on the list. 

30. Andy O’Brien (277 appearances)

It might be a surprise to some that O’Brien is as high as 18th on the list of all-time Premier League appearances by an Irish player. He was not as prolific at international level, winning 26 caps between 2001 and 2006, with the likes of Steve Staunton, Kenny Cunningham, Richard Dunne and Gary Breen often ahead of him in the pecking order. It was at Bradford City that the Harrogate-born defender established himself, helping the club seal promotion to the Premier League and starring in the heart of their defence as they avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight. Those performances helped O’Brien earn a move away, leaving for a club-record £2 million (€2.34 million) fee and joining Newcastle, where he made over 170 appearances in four years with the St James’ Park outfit, despite competition from the likes of Jonathan Woodgate and Titus Bramble. After departing the Magpies, O’Brien still made over 100 additional Premier League appearances with Portsmouth and Bolton, winning a fans’ Player of the Season award at the latter. Following a short spell with Leeds in the Championship, the centre-back finished his career on the back of three years playing Major League Soccer for Vancouver Whitecaps.

29. Jeff Kenna (290 appearances)

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

One of the more underrated players on this list. Kenna sometimes gets overlooked because he happened to play in a golden age for Irish right-backs, with the likes of Gary Kelly, Stephen Carr and Steve Finnan also emerging around this era. Consequently, for a player of his talent, Kenna might feel he should have won more than 27 caps between 1995 and 1999. But he had a good Premier League career regardless. The Dubliner made his name at Southampton before joining Blackburn just in time for their title triumph, signing for £1.5 million (€1.75 million) and featuring nine times in the memorable 1994-95 run-in. Kenna remained a Premier League regular for Rovers for much of the next four seasons before falling out of favour after their relegation to the Championship. Following a couple of brief loan transfers, the Irish star helped Birmingham secure promotion to the Premier League. He then finished his time in the game with stints at Derby County, Kidderminster Harriers and Galway United, managing the latter and St Patrick’s Athletic during a short-lived spell as a League of Ireland coach during the late 2000s. Kenna is one of only seven Irish players to have won the Premier League while playing a meaningful part in the title race (Roy Keane, Denis Irwin, Damien Duff, Darron Gibson, John O’Shea and Caoimhín Kelleher are the others).

28. Stephen Ireland (246 appearances)

A good career that could have been a better one. Unfortunately, with Ireland, people tend to remember the controversies more than anything – the ‘dead’ grandmother story and the early self-imposed exile from international football, ending his time in the Irish set-up with six caps and four goals. What gets talked about less often is how accomplished a footballer the Cork-born player was. He made his Premier League debut against Bolton less than a month after turning 19 and was a regular presence in the Man City team for the next five seasons. The peak was the 2008-09 campaign, when at the age of 22, he finished the campaign with nine goals from 35 appearances, won the club’s Player of the Season award, signed a five-year contract and looked on the verge of becoming a top Premier League player. But Ireland sadly never hit those heights again. It was around the time City were becoming a much richer and bigger entity. Mark Hughes was replaced by Roberto Mancini as manager, the likes of Nigel de Jong and Patrick Vieira increased competition for a place in midfield, and the Italian manager warned that Ireland must “change his head” to be a regular in his side. His career slowly petered out thereafter. He joined Villa in a deal that saw James Milner going the other way. His time with the Midlands club was mixed at best. He was dropped amid a falling out with manager Gerard Houllier but recovered to later win a Supporters’ Player of the Season award. Yet having impressed under Alex McLeish, he then fell out of favour under Paul Lambert. A reunion with old City boss Hughes at Stoke briefly threatened to spark a career revival. Although he played five Premier League seasons with the Potters, he was mainly on the periphery of the team during an injury-ridden spell, racking up 70 appearances in total. He briefly joined Bolton in the Championship but didn’t play and retired after having his contract cancelled.

27. Nathan Collins (125 appearances)

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The only active Premier League player on this list, it is difficult to make a definitive judgement on Collins primarily for that reason. Some may argue he is placed too high because of his age and having a good portion of his career to play. But while he may have had a shorter period of time to impress than most, his impact has been significant. Consider the context. Last season, the 25-year-old captained Brentford to their joint-best-ever Premier League season as they finished in ninth place. He was a regular for the Bees in the previous two campaigns as well and racked up a combined 45 Premier League appearances for Burnley and Wolves, having started his career at Stoke. He has twice broken the record for the most expensive Irish player ever, moving to Molineux for £20.5 million (€24 million) and also signing on with Brentford for a club-record £23 million (€26.9 million). And most significantly, Collins is thriving in an era when it is harder for Irish players to succeed in the English top flight, which has become a truly international league. If he had featured in the mid ’90s, when it consisted primarily of UK and Irish players, it would not be a stretch to imagine Collins lining out for a top-four club.  

26. Rory Delap (359 appearances)

Another underrated player; only seven Irish footballers have made more Premier League appearances than Delap. Although he did drop to the Championship twice in his career, for the most part, his speciality seemed to be helping perceived relegation strugglers establish themselves in the English top flight. That was the case with Jim Smith’s Derby County, whom Delap joined from Carlisle for £200,000 (€234,000) and helped secure a ninth-place finish in his first season there. He spent four seasons with the Rams and another four at Southampton, before a brief, injury-hampered spell at Mick McCarthy’s Sunderland. It is his stint at Stoke City, however, that he will be best remembered. Delap helped Tony Pulis’ side gain promotion from the Championship in his first season, undertaking a key role in the next four seasons as the Potters established themselves as a reliable mid-table club. In particular, his physical stature and trademark long throw-ins seemed to epitomise what the club were all about in that era. Fleeting spells at Bolton (on loan) and Burnley followed, before Delap retired in December 2013. His Ireland career was less memorable, winning 11 caps between 1998 and 2004 and missing out on a squad place for the 2002 World Cup. The midfielder frequently found himself low down in the pecking order behind the likes of Roy Keane, Matt Holland, Mark Kinsella and Lee Carsley. 

25. Ray Houghton (105 appearances) 

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A great player on his day and another who would be much higher on the list if you took his full career into account. Houghton was 30 by the time of the inaugural Premier League season but still had plenty to offer. A two-time First Division title winner with Liverpool (whom he had just left the previous summer), he was a regular for the Aston Villa side that finished runners-up to Man United in the 1992-93 season. He played a big part again the following year, as Ron Atkinson’s men finished a disappointing 10th. They did also earn a surprise win over Man United in the League Cup final, though Houghton was an unused sub for that game. By the 1994-95 campaign, Houghton had become more of a peripheral figure, starting 19 of Villa’s 42 Premier League games as they finished just three points above the relegation zone in 18th – a dire run that resulted in Brian Little replacing Atkinson. The Scottish-born footballer joined Crystal Palace towards the end of that season, but could not prevent them being pipped to survival by Villa. He was an important player for Palace, with eight goals from 87 appearances overall, leaving after being part of the promotion-winning 1996-97 campaign. Houghton spent a few more years at Reading and Stevenage Borough before retiring at the age of 38 with 73 Ireland caps and three major tournament appearances to his name.

24. Jonathan Walters (233 appearances)

Only four Irish players – Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn, Shane Long and Damien Duff – have scored more Premier League goals than Walters’ 43. His 14 goals from 54 appearances also puts him inside the top 10 Irish goalscorers at international level. Walters had unmemorable spells with Blackburn and Bolton early in his career, barely playing but making four Premier League appearances for the latter. He would then spend the next seven years climbing back up the English football ladder, encompassing stints at Hull City, Crewe Alexandra, Barnsley, Scunthorpe United, Wrexham, Chester City and Ipswich Town. He was a month off his 27th birthday when he left Roy Keane’s Tractor Boys to join Stoke for £2.75 million (€3.22 million), paving the way for his second Premier League stint. Over the next seven seasons, the Merseyside-born forward played and scored regularly for the Potters, often favoured in the team ahead of more expensive and high-profile foreign recruits. Though he never hit double figures in the top flight, he remained a vital player for his work rate, regularly being deployed on the wing as well as up front. The highlight was probably 2010, when he finished as the club’s joint top-scorer, and they reached the FA Cup final. In 2017, he joined Burnley in a £3 million (€3.51 million) move, but he made just six appearances thereafter (three of which were on loan at Ipswich), as an Achilles injury prompted the attacker’s retirement in 2019.

23. Ian Harte (237 appearances)

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Made over 200 appearances for Leeds between 1996 and 2004. It’s easy to forget now that for much of that time, the Elland Road outfit were a top-five Premier League club for whom Harte was an important player. Among the highlights were a third-place finish in the 1999-2000 campaign, and the club progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League the next season. In addition to his defensive exploits, Harte was known for his dead-ball expertise – he is currently joint-fifth on the list of most prolific free-kick takers in Premier League history. However, his career never hit the same heights after departing the West Yorkshire-based side following their relegation. He spent three seasons at Levante, during which the Spanish team were both relegated from and promoted to La Liga. Injuries and form saw him fall out of favour there, and he briefly returned to the Premier League, making eight appearances for Roy Keane’s Sunderland before being released. He had short spells at Blackpool and Carlisle, before a late-career resurgence at Reading, helping the Royals gain promotion from the Championship and registering an additional 16 Premier League appearances at 35. The Drogheda native then spent two more seasons in the second tier with Bournemouth before calling it a day. 

22. Glenn Whelan (276 appearances) 

Often unfairly derided, Whelan is the classic example of an Irish player who made the absolute most of his abilities. The Dubliner was never at the same level talent-wise as, to cite one example, Stephen Ireland, but ultimately had a longer and more successful Premier League career. He was another footballer who had to work hard to get to the English top flight. He started at Man City, but was let go without making a single league appearance. After a loan spell in the Third Division with Bury, Whelan rebuilt his career at Sheffield Wednesday, helping the Owls gain promotion to the Championship. He signed for Stoke City as they were on the verge of Premier League promotion and, for the next nine seasons, was key to consolidating their top-flight status. It took serious tenacity – as Whelan told The 42 in 2023: “At one stage, I think it was between 75 and 80 million spent on midfielders to replace me.” He ultimately became a cult hero at the Britannia Stadium, with CEO Tony Scholes in 2017 describing the player bought for only £500,000 (€584,000) as one of the club’s “best-ever signings”. Aged 33, Whelan joined Aston Villa, helping the side earn promotion from the Championship in his second season there. The Cherry Orchard graduate had further spells at Hearts, Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers. Since his retirement, Whelan has moved into coaching and is currently manager of Livingston in the Scottish second tier. He had a stellar international career to boot, as reflected by the fact that he is the ninth most-capped Irish player ever, featuring in back-to-back Euros in 2012 and 2016.

Related Reads

Ireland's greatest-ever Premier League players: 40-31

Ireland's greatest-ever Premier League players: 50-41

21. Kevin Kilbane (325 appearances) 

Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Like Whelan, Kilbane is another who conceivably maximised his potential. One characteristic that stood out was his professionalism. Whether asked to play left wing, left back or central midfield, he invariably did a solid job, which helped him win 110 Ireland caps between 1997 and 2011 (only John O’Shea, Shay Given and Robbie Keane have more). He learned his trade in the lower leagues, spending a couple of seasons at Preston and West Brom before sealing a Premier League move to Sunderland. He had been the Baggies’ first £1 million (€1.17 million) player, while the £2.5 million (€2.92 million) Peter Reid’s side paid for him made him the third most expensive signing in the Black Cats’ history at the time. Kilbane was a regular for four seasons at Sunderland, but struggled for form as they were relegated at the end of the 2002-03 campaign, despite back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the player’s first two years there. Yet Kilbane didn’t spend long in the Championship, as he was soon reunited with his old Preston boss David Moyes at Everton in a deal worth just under £1 million (€1.17 million). The 2004-05 campaign was probably Kilbane’s peak – he played all 38 games as Everton finished fourth and secured a spot in the Champions League qualifying round. From there, he spent a couple of seasons fighting top-flight relegation with Wigan Athletic and Hull City, before his career culminated after short stints at Huddersfield Town, Derby and Coventry City. 

You can read about numbers 30-21 at 9pm tomorrow on The 42