The Republic of Ireland have had some excellent squads down through the years, meaning that quite a few talented players were unfortunate not to be given more opportunities at international level.
The reasons for that vary on a case by case basis. A few had bad injury luck, others played in a position with quite a number of other options available, while some just weren't fancied by a succession of Irish managers.
With that in mind, here is an XI of players that may well feel that they didn't get a fair crack with the Republic of Ireland down through the years.
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An XI Of Players Who Didn't Get A Fair Crack With Republic of Ireland
GK: Dean Kiely
In any other era, it is likely that Dean Kiely would have earned far more than 11 caps for Ireland. Unfortunately, he was on the scene at the same time as Shay Given, arguably our greatest ever goalkeeper.
Kiely had a brilliant career at club level, making well over 600 in league football. That includes a lengthy spell in the Premier League, where he acted was the well established no. 1 at Charlton before also spending some time at Portsmouth.
He has since moved into coaching and was Ireland's goalkeeping coach under Stephen Kenny.
RB: Kevin Foley
Ireland have been blessed with a huge number of talented right backs in recent decades, but it is still a bit surprising that Kevin Foley only managed to pick up eight caps over the course of his career. That is especially true when you consider that he came along after the trifecta of Kelly-Finnan-Carr and before the emergence of Seamus Coleman.
He made his debut in 2009, with his final cap coming in 2012. He had almost 200 EFL appearances under his belt before finally getting an Ireland opportunity.
His Ireland career is perhaps best summed up by the fact that he was included in Giovanni Trapattoni's squad for Euro 2012, only to be cut at the last minute due to slight niggle. Foley would later say he 'felt betrayed' by the move.
CB: Damien Delaney
Damien Delaney is probably unfortunate that he was a centre back, meaning he had to compete with the likes of John O'Shea and Richard Dunne for Ireland caps during his prime. Still, he probably should have made more than eight appearances over the course of his career.
He was an incredibly consistent performer in the Championship for Hull City for quite a few years before making his debut in 2008. That would continue at both Ipswich Town and QPR, before making the jump to the Premier League with Crystal Palace.
Despite some impressive displays in the top flight, he could never make the breakthrough at international level.
CB: Darragh Lenihan
Darragh Lenihan's international career is still ongoing, although it's fair to say he has been unlucky not to earn more Ireland caps over the last few years.
The Meath native has long been one of the most consistent players in the Championship, starring at Blackburn Rovers before making the move to Middlesbrough in 2022.
He made his Ireland debut in 2018, although he would have to wait almost four years before getting another opportunity to pull on the green jersey. He currently has four caps to his name.
Lenihan was overlooked by Mick McCarthy in favour of Shane Duffy, John Egan and (somewhat oddly) Richard Keogh. Under Stephen Kenny, he was left out in favour of emerging young players such as Nathan Collins and Dara O'Shea.
In a sense, he fell awkwardly between two generations of Irish centre backs. That is something that has counted against him.
LB: Ryan Manning
Ryan Manning's lack of international opportunities is something that has long puzzled quite a large section of Ireland fans.
Despite the fact that the left back or left wingback position was a spot Ireland often struggled to fill, he was consistently left out of squads despite excelling in that very role at Championship level. In fact, he was one of the best players in that division over a two or three year spell.
He was given more playing time towards the end of Stephen Kenny's time in charge and should add to his 11 caps over the coming seasons.
CM: Rory Delap
Ireland were only able to benefit from Rory Delap's throw-in prowess on 11 occasions, with his final cap actually coming a number of years before the world became that part of his game became the stuff of legends at Stoke City.
Delap's lack of Irish opportunities were puzzling, especially when you consider how consistent of a performer he was in the Premier League. He is one of only four players to make more than 100 appearances for three different teams in the division. James Milner, Gary Speed, and Gareth Barry are the only other footballers to manage that feat.
If he played in a slightly later era, that cap tally would have been much higher.
CM: Andy Reid
Andy Reid is the personification of what is required to make this list. He was loved by fans and clearly hugely talented, but he continued to be overlooked by a succession of Irish managers.
In an Ireland team that so often lacked creativity, he provided that in abundance. However, opportunities were often lacking under Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton, before he was exiled altogether under Giovanni Trapattoni.
His 29 caps is the second highest among players in this team, but he should have had far more.
CM: Wes Hoolahan
For a summary of how Wes Hoolahan's Ireland career went, see above. His story is remarkably similar to Andy Reid's, in that he was not trusted to perform by a succession of Irish coaches despite being one of the most talented players at our disposal.
Hoolahan made his international debut in 2008, only to have to wait four years for another appearance under Trapattoni. He did come back into the fold under Martin O'Neill, although he was still used sparingly at first.
He would eventually get the chance to shine at international level and put in some brilliant performances over the years that followed. Still, he should have been a more pivotal part of the team.
The Dubliner ended his career with 43 caps. It is by far the largest tally among this team, but it was not enough in our view.
FW: Alan Lee
Alan Lee was a consistent goalscorer in the EFL for a number of years, although that never quite translated to international opportunities. He earned ten Ireland caps from 2003-2006, with the player having an impressive strike rate in the couple of years that followed that period.
He was never likely to be a first choice player at international level, although Lee may well feel that he should have been given a few more opportunities.
ST: Leon Best
Leon Best is on the short list of Irish players to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, doing so for Newcastle United back in 2011. Strangely enough, the last of his seven Ireland caps came the previous year.
Best did struggle at times in the seasons that followed, although he may well feel that he should have earned more Ireland caps in the years previous. He was a consistent performer at Coventry City and had a different physical profile to other striker in the Ireland squad.
The presence of Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle, and Shane Long meant it was difficult to elbow his way in, although there were a few less talented strikers that were given an opportunity during this period.
FW: David McGoldrick
Considering how highly regarded David McGoldrick was among Ireland fans at the turn of the decade, it is strange to think that he only really made his mark from 2019 onwards.
His first cap came back in 2014, having turned down a call-up from Scotland. While a competitive debut would come in 2016 with a brief appearance off the bench against Austria, he would have to wait another few years to get a real chance to shine. That finally came on the back of his form for Sheffield United during their promotion campaign.
McGoldrick put in some brilliant performance for Ireland over the couple of years that followed, although he would opt to retire from international football back in 2020.
A final tally of 14 caps seems like a missed opportunity when you consider what he brought to the side under Mick McCarthy and the early days of Stephen Kenny.
The Team In Full
That is certainly an interesting Ireland team, one that is filled with a few cases of 'what if'.
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