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. 

40. Damien Delaney (138 appearances)

The Corkonian made eight Premier League appearances with Leicester at the very start of his career before returning to the top-flight after an 11-year absence with Crystal Palace. Delaney showed impressive resilience in between, racking up over 300 senior appearances and featuring in all four divisions in the English pyramid. He grasped his opportunity in the Premier League the second time around, playing four seasons of regular football for an Eagles side that invariably hovered around the mid-table spots before ending his career with brief stints in the League of Ireland at Cork City and Waterford. Delaney was arguably under-utilised by Ireland, winning nine caps between 2008 and 2014, and opened up about his absence from the international team despite good form at club level in a 2015 Instagram post, explaining: “I know that at the age of 34 the future of Irish football does not lie with me, the rigours of Premier League football and the 24/7 dedication required takes its toll so I look on the international break as a chance to recover.”

39. Jeff Hendrick (147 appearances)

An underrated player who at his peak was one of the most important members of the Irish squad. The high point of Hendrick’s time with the Boys in Green and probably his career overall was Euro 2016, when he was widely considered the standout player as Martin O’Neill’s men reached the round of 16 before exiting after a 2-1 loss to hosts France. His performances at that tournament ostensibly helped secure his move to the Premier League in August 2016, when he joined Burnley for a club record £10.5 million (€12.25 million) fee. He was a key figure in four seasons with the Clarets – the apex of which was a seventh-place finish in the 2017-18 season. Hendrick then moved to Newcastle in the summer of 2020, but the Saudi takeover occurred shortly after the transfer. Manager Steve Bruce moved on, and Hendrick was deemed surplus to requirements by the new regime. The remainder of his career was spent on loan in the Championship – he received limited game time in spells at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County. The only season he played regularly during the last few years of his career – at Reading – the club were relegated.

38. Gary Breen (165 appearances)

Coventry City's Gary Breen (r) holds off Manchester United's Dwight Yorke (l). Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Breen made over 500 career appearances – 165 of those were in the Premier League. It is an impressive achievement when you consider the early setback of being let go at a young age by Charlton Athletic and needing to revive his career at the now-defunct Maidstone United. Breen gradually worked his way back up the English football ladder, earning a £2.5 million (€2.93 million) move to Coventry at 23 for his first taste of Premier League football. In five and a half seasons with the Sky Blues, all but one were in the top flight. His contract then expired, and Breen was without a club while starring at the 2002 World Cup. His performances at the tournament almost secured the defender a move to Inter Milan. In the end, however, Breen had to settle for West Ham, and the move went poorly as he struggled to earn regular football for a team that was relegated from the top flight despite a record-high points tally of 42. The defender revived his career at Sunderland, helping the club earn promotion to the Premier League under his old Ireland boss Mick McCarthy, before finishing his career in the lower leagues with Wolves and Barnet. 

37. John Sheridan (112 appearances)

Only marginally makes the criteria for this list with 112 appearances, but would be higher if you included his entire career. The last season before the Premier League’s inception was arguably his peak, as he was a key player for a Sheffield Wednesday side that finished third in the top flight. He remained a fairly regular presence for the first three Premier League seasons. They had consecutive seventh-place finishes before coming 13th in the 1994-95 campaign. Yet Sheridan became more of a peripheral figure thereafter, gradually losing his place in the side after David Pleat replaced Trevor Francis as manager. He then helped Bolton gain promotion to the top flight, but played only 12 times as they were relegated the following season. He went on to make over 100 appearances for Oldham in Division Two before retiring shortly before his 40th birthday. Perhaps his best moments, though, were in cup competitions – he won the League Cup with Sheffield Wednesday in 1991, and he reached the final of the FA Cup two years later, in addition to winning 34 Ireland caps, including appearances at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. Since retiring, Sheridan has had a long career in management, mainly in the English lower leagues. But younger Irish readers might best remember him for a brief, eight-game spell in charge of Waterford in 2020.

36. Wes Hoolahan (112 appearances)

Wes Hoolahan pictured during his time at Norwich City. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Like Andy Reid and Robbie Brady, his considerable talent merited a better and longer Premier League career than the one he had. Often underestimated because of his diminutive stature, Hoolahan was 22 when he left Shelbourne to join Livingston for £100,000 (€117,000). After a short spell in the Scottish top flight, the Dubliner joined Blackpool, helping the club secure promotion to the Championship. After two seasons with the Seasiders, he signed for the team with whom he would become most associated – Norwich City. Yet even there, the pathway was far from straightforward. He suffered relegation to League One in his first season at the Canaries, but Hoolahan then inspired back-to-back promotions, with 21 goals in two seasons. Already aged 29 when he made his Premier League debut in 2011, Hoolahan’s first two seasons were his best, as he played regularly for a Norwich team that secured 12th and 11th place finishes under Paul Lambert and Chris Hughton. However, Hoolahan made only 16 appearances the following campaign, as the club were relegated, but he was a regular once more as they gained promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. The Dubliner played 30 times the following season for a side that went straight back down – Alex Neil’s men were often stronger offensively than defensively, epitomised by a dramatic 5-4 loss to an early incarnation of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Hoolahan’s Ireland career was similarly atypical. He was capped as early as 2008 by Giovanni Trapattoni while at Blackpool, but it was the only one of his 43 caps that was earned before he turned 30. The Belvedere FC graduate experienced many of the best moments of his club career outside the Premier League. He featured four times on the PFA Team of the Year, and also made the Football League Team of the Decade.

35. Dean Kiely (195 appearances)

An underrated goalkeeper who in another era might have won more Ireland caps than the 11 he finished with – the Salford-born stopper had the misfortune to see his career more or less coincide with one of the greatest goalkeepers the country has ever produced, Shay Given. Kiely was also another late starter at the top level. The player’s early years were spent in the Fourth, Third and Second Division with York City. He then spent three seasons at Bury before moving to Charlton Athletic, where he helped the Addicks earn promotion to the Premier League in his first season there. By the time he made his top-flight debut, Kiely was only a few months shy of 30. For five seasons thereafter, he was a virtual ever-present, as Alan Curbishley’s men regularly finished around mid-table, peaking with a seventh-place finish in 2004, the high point. He made an additional 15 Premier League appearances with Portsmouth and three more at West Brom, before retiring as a player and moving into coaching in 2011.

34. Jason McAteer (156 appearances)

Jason McAteer at Anfield after signing for Liverpool. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

McAteer spent the first three years of his senior career at Bolton, making over 100 appearances for the club and helping them earn promotion to the top flight. He made a handful of Premier League appearances with the Trotters before joining Liverpool for £4.5 million (€5.27 million) – a significant fee at the time. He had a decent spell with the Reds, scoring six goals from 139 appearances overall and playing in some big games, including the 1996 FA Cup final. Part of the ‘Spice Boys’ along with Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp and Steve McManaman, the Ireland star was not a seamless fit once a notoriously strict disciplinarian like Gerard Houllier took charge. The French manager sold the winger to Blackburn for £4 million (€4.68 million). McAteer suffered Premier League relegation with the Ewood Park outfit. However, he also helped them win back promotion before a dispute with manager Graeme Souness paved the way for his exit. A £1 million (€1.17 million) move to Sunderland followed, and while McAteer made over 50 appearances for the Black Cats, his time there was hampered by injury. The man most famous on these shores for scoring the winning goal in the famous Lansdowne Road World Cup qualifier between Ireland and the Netherlands spent the last three years of his career at Tranmere Rovers before retiring. McAteer probably did not end up having as spectacular a career as he would have hoped and perhaps regrets the Blackburn move. Yet at his best in a Liverpool jersey, the Cheshire native was one of the most exciting young players in the early days of the Premier League.

33. Phil Babb (231 appearances)

Another Irish international who moved to Liverpool from a less heralded club. After two seasons in the Premier League with Coventry, Babb established himself as one of the top young defenders in English football. The subsequent transfer cost Liverpool £3.6 million (€4.22 million). He may never have established himself as an Anfield great but still made 170 appearances in all competitions for the Reds. After leaving Liverpool, he had a brief stint at Tranmere before playing in Portugal for two years at Sporting CP, becoming a popular figure there and winning a league and cup double in 2001. He starred at the 1994 World Cup for Ireland and won 35 caps overall, but barely featured following an infamous incident involving himself and Mark Kennedy. Still, Mick McCarthy forgave him, and he became an important player for the ex-Ireland manager’s Sunderland side. But the centre-back could not prevent the Black Cats’ relegation in 2003, and when their promotion bid fell short the next season, Babb retired at the young age of 33. 

32. Kevin Doyle (164 appearances) 

Kevin Doyle of Reading and Leeds' Gary Kelly compete for the ball. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

After a couple of seasons as a youngster in the League of Ireland, Doyle made a remarkably swift transition to life across the water. In his first season, he guided Reading to Championship promotion with 18 goals in 45 appearances. The next campaign was similarly impressive – Doyle managed 13 goals from 32 appearances as the Royals secured a creditable eighth-place finish. That was as good as it got for the Ireland international at club level. He managed six goals from 36 appearances the next season as Steve Coppell’s side were relegated. Doyle had another fine season thereafter, though his 18 goals were not enough as Reading fell narrowly short of promotion. As a result, he joined Mick McCarthy’s Wolves for £6.5 million (€7.61 million). While he was not as prolific as at Reading, the club spent the next three seasons in the Premier League – the first saw Doyle earn the Player’s Player of the Season Award and finish as their top scorer with nine goals. In 2011, he also scored a memorable winning goal in a 2-1 victory that ended Man United’s 29-game unbeaten run. But this spell slowly unravelled, as Wolves suffered back-to-back relegations, eventually prompting the Wexford native’s departure. He made three further Premier League appearances in a brief loan spell at Crystal Palace while his temporary move to QPR was similarly fleeting. Doyle spent the last three seasons at Colorado Rapids in America before being forced to retire owing to concussion issues. For that early spell at Reading especially, he will be remembered as one of the standout Irish strikers to grace the English top flight.

31. Matt Doherty (190 appearances)

Matt Doherty made over 300 appearances across two spells at Wolves. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Not long after signing from Bohs, Doherty made one Premier League appearance with Wolves in the 2011-12 season. He would have to wait a while for another crack at the English top flight. The Dubliner spent five of the next six seasons playing in the Championship (the other was in League One). He was part of an impressive Wolves side that won promotion in 2018. Doherty then appeared in 74 of their 76 Premier League games as Nuno Espírito Santo’s men earned back-to-back seventh-place finishes. This form prompted a £13.4 million (€15.68 million) move to Tottenham in August 2020, though it never really worked out at Spurs. It didn’t help that it was a turbulent time at the North London club – in three seasons, Doherty played under three different managers (Espírito Santo, José Mourinho and Antonio Conte), but tended to be in and out of the starting XI regardless of who was in charge. A brief move to Atlético Madrid followed before Doherty returned to Wolves, reviving his career, adapting from a right wing-back to a right-sided centre-half and adding another 71 Premier League appearances to his CV. He left Wolves in the summer following their relegation and is back in the Championship this season, having signed for Sheffield United.

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