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. 

50. Curtis Fleming (146 appearances)

One of the more underrated players included, having started his career at St Patrick’s Athletic, Fleming established himself in England. All his Premier League appearances came with Middlesbrough, for whom he played 266 times in total. Probably the craziest and most memorable season of his career was the 1996-97 campaign. Fleming was a regular in a Boro team that included one past and one future World Cup winner (Branco and Juninho), former Juventus and Inter Milan stars Gianluca Festa and Fabrizio Ravanelli, and a couple of other accomplished foreign players at a time it still felt relatively novel and exotic in English football. Somehow, Bryan Robson’s team managed to reach the finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup while also getting relegated.

49. Mark Kinsella (108 appearances)

An example of a player who probably had a better international career than at club level. Kinsella was a fine footballer at his peak, and a key man for Ireland’s 2002 World Cup campaign, particularly in Roy Keane’s absence as he and Matt Holland acquitted themselves well in midfield. In total, he won 48 Ireland caps, the majority of which were won under Mick McCarthy. Kinsella was a late bloomer in his career, moving from Third Division Colchester to First Division Charlton at the age of 24. He had two regular seasons of Premier League football following the Addicks’ promotion – the 1998-99 and 2000–01 seasons. Scott Parker’s emergence coincided with increasingly limited game time for Kinsella at the Valley. A subsequent move to Aston Villa didn’t really work out, with a couple of injuries hampering his progress, as the Dubliner retired after spells in the lower leagues with West Brom and Walsall. While there may have been better Irish Premier League midfielders, Kinsella deserves his place on the list, particularly given his ability to step up to a high level when required, as he showed against the likes of Spain, Germany and the Netherlands when in an Ireland jersey.

48. Shane Duffy (119 appearances)

Shane Duffy pictured playing for Brighton. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Probably another player who had a better international than club career. Duffy was a key individual for Ireland for many years, winning 61 caps and playing at Euro 2016. He made a handful of Premier League appearances with Everton and Fulham, though the vast majority of his top-flight games were with Brighton. While he ultimately fell out of favour at the Seagulls, he was a pivotal player in establishing them as a Premier League club. Duffy was a regular when they sealed promotion from the Championship and was also a virtual ever-present in their first two Premier League seasons. Yet he was used more sparingly once Graham Potter replaced Chris Hughton as manager, and the Derry native left the club after a couple of underwhelming loan spells at Celtic and Fulham. Now 34, Duffy is on the lookout for a new team having spent the last three seasons at Norwich.

47. Stephen Hunt (143 appearances)

Probably a good example of an Irish player who overachieved relative to his ability. Hunt started his career at First Division side Crystal Palace, but was let go by the Eagles after failing to establish himself as a first-team regular. He revived his career in the third tier of English football with Brentford, earning a move to Reading after four seasons with the Bees. It was with the Royals that he first played Premier League football – Hunt was a key part of the Steve Coppell-managed side that earned a remarkable eighth-place finish in their first season of top-flight football. However, they were promptly relegated the following year. Nonetheless, Hunt’s displays meant he remained a Premier League player, securing a £3.5 million (€4.08 million) move to Hull City. His first season there ended with another relegation. Yet Hunt remained in the top flight, signing with Mick McCarthy’s Wolves, where he spent another two seasons fighting (and eventually succumbing to) relegation. Hunt also had short stints at Ipswich and Coventry before retiring. He won Player of the Year for both Reading and Hull, while he made the Championship PFA Team of the Year in 2009. For Ireland, the Portlaoise-born player won 39 caps, making the squad for Euro 2012 without featuring in any of the three games.

46. Steven Reid (192 appearances)

Reid had made more than 100 appearances for Millwall in the second and third tier before being brought to Blackburn by Graeme Souness at the age of 22. Touted as a replacement for Damien Duff, who had joined Chelsea in a big-money move shortly before Reid’s arrival, the winger could not replicate the Dubliner’s impact at Ewood Park. After the £2.5 million (€2.93 million) transfer, he made 113 appearances in seven seasons for Rovers, with persistent injury problems limiting his impact at the club. Having started as a wide player, Reid later successfully transitioned to different positions, impressing as both a central midfielder and full-back, which is where he spent most of the latter stages of his Premier League career, making 82 appearances across four seasons with West Brom, plus an additional seven at Burnley. He also won 23 caps for Ireland, but was rarely an automatic starter for the Boys in Green, with players like Duff and Jason McAteer often ahead of him in the pecking order.

45. Marc Wilson (181 appearances)

Marc Wilson made the majority of his Premier League appearances at Stoke. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A talented player who probably didn’t have as good a career as he should have because of injury problems. Nonetheless, there aren’t too many Irish stars who have made as many Premier League appearances as Wilson has. Let go by Man United as a teenager, the Antrim native joined Portsmouth and was playing regular Premier League football in his early 20s. For five seasons, he was an important player for a Stoke City side that frequently punched above their weight and finished mid-table. But by the age of 28, he was more or less done as a top-level player. Subsequent stints at Bournemouth, West Brom, Sunderland and Bolton were fleeting and forgettable before finishing his playing career with a short spell in Iceland. For Ireland, Wilson won 25 caps between 2011 and 2016, though turned down a late call-up for Euro 2012 and unfortunately missed the tournament again four years later through injury.

44. James McClean (158 appearances)

Now at Derry City, the 37-year-old has played 19 seasons as a regular at senior level, and five of those were Premier League campaigns. He made the transition from the League of Ireland relatively quickly. After joining Sunderland for a fee of £350,000 (€408,000), he made his debut six months later, not long after Martin O’Neill replaced Steve Bruce as manager. He was a regular for a season and a half at the Black Cats before spending two seasons in the Championship with Wigan Athletic. McClean then earned a move back to the Premier League with West Brom. The first two seasons went well. McClean featured regularly as Tony Pulis’ side finished 14th and 10th, and then made 30 appearances in the 2017-18 campaign when they were relegated. Before his return home, the winger played an additional four and a half seasons in the Championship, two in League One and one in League Two, more recently helping Wrexham earn consecutive promotions in 2024 and 2025. In his Premier League career, he registered 11 goals and nine assists.

43. Terry Phelan (143 appearances)

Won 42 caps for Ireland between 1991 and 2000, and started three of their four games at the 1994 World Cup. Phelan also had a solid career in English football. The majority of his Premier League appearances came with Man City, though he also represented Chelsea and Everton towards the latter end of his career. There may have been better Irish full-backs through the years, but to give an insight into how highly regarded Phelan was at his peak, in 1992, his £2.5 million (€2.92 million) move from Wimbledon to Man City equalled both the British record transfer for a defender and the latter club’s record fee. So Phelan and Elliot Anderson have something in common.

42. Robbie Brady (160 appearances)

Registered 10 goals and 13 assists in 160 Premier League appearances. Brady is still an active player and is on the lookout for a new club following his release from Preston in the summer. Unfortunately, for a primarily creative player, many of his best years in the top flight were spent at clubs battling survival. He endured back-to-back relegations with Norwich and Hull City. After some stellar displays for Ireland at Euro 2016, he made his Premier League return six months later, signing with Burnley for a club-record £13 million (€15.16 million). But his five top-flight seasons at the Clarets were hampered by injury. His 81 appearances were scattered, and his best campaign in terms of games was the 2020-21 season, where he played exactly half their matches (19). Persistent injury problems have been a recurring theme since then as well, but he has still managed 100 Championship appearances in the last five seasons with Bournemouth and Preston.

41. Andy Reid (115 appearances)

Sunderland's Andy Reid celebrates scoring. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A great talent who could have and perhaps should have had a better career. Many of Reid’s best seasons came away from the top flight – while playing in the second tier with Nottingham Forest, he made the PFA Team of the Year in both 2004 and 2014. His early success in the Championship earned him a move to Spurs. Along with teammate Michael Dawson, the pair were signed for a combined £8 million (€9.33 million). But the move to Tottenham didn’t work out, and a switch to Charlton was not a great fit either, as the club were promptly relegated to the Championship. A £5 million (€5.83 million) transfer to Roy Keane’s Sunderland saw Reid get another chance at Premier League football, and it was with the Black Cats that the Dubliner racked up the majority of his top-flight appearances. He also made five Premier League appearances for Ian Holloway’s Blackpool in the 2010-11 campaign before returning to the Championship with Forest to see out his career. Overall in the English top flight, from 115 appearances, he managed seven goals and 14 assists. There is also a lingering sense that Reid underachieved with Ireland too. He would surely have finished with more than 29 caps were it not for a well-documented falling out with then-manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

You can read about numbers 40-31 at 9pm tomorrow on The 42