O'Gorman made her international debut aged just 16, and would go on to score on 13 occasions for Ireland.

Conor Shaughnessy believes the Ireland U21 team can provide a much-needed lift to the Irish football scene when they face Germany in a crucial European qualifier tonight.

It was entirely in keeping with John O’Shea’s self-effacing character and career-long commitment to the concept of the ‘team player’, that the elegant defender’s farewell address to the Irish supporters seemed to be about everyone but himself, writes Liam Mackey.

Republic of Ireland 1 Azerbaijan 0: It took until the last second of the final minute in injury time but U21 defender Shaun Donnellan ensured the good times for Irish underage football continued last night.

As much as the diminishing number of Premier League regulars in the senior Ireland squad is a concern, deeper problems are evident among the U21 panel, though Noel King’s main striker Reece Grego-Cox insists the non-league circuit is ideal for him at this stage.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21s have Declan Rice available for their clash with Azerbaijan at Tallaght Stadium following his successful spell with the senior team.

Ireland 3 Iceland 1: Derry City midfielder Rory Hale took just 14 seconds to mark his international U21 debut last night with a goal by firing Ireland on the way to victory against Iceland.

John Fallon looks back on Irish soccer’s 2017

Mark Kinsella feels history will repeat itself over the next 12 months when it comes to revamping Ireland’s international squad.

Norway 2 Rep of Ireland 1

Marie Hourihan knew the stereotypical ‘plastic paddy’ banter from her Ireland teammates wouldn’t last long once they discovered her deep affinity to the country.

Republic of Ireland's U21s continued their unbeaten run in the European Championship qualifiers with an impressive 4-0 win over Israel today.

Galway native Ryan Manning has his sights set on guiding Ireland to the U21 Euro finals and earning senior promotion.

Noel King has challenged the Republic of Ireland U21s to continue an unbeaten start to their European Championship qualifying campaign by ending Israel's.

If Martin O’Neill was seeking encouragement about the talent pool for the next campaign, the Ireland manager should have received some assurance from the display of the next generation.

Ireland U21 0 Norway U21 0

Declan Rice admits the desire to resume working with Roy Keane endures but helping Ireland’s U21s break their major finals duck is his immediate objective.

When Martin O’Neill named three uncapped strikers in his latest squad at a press conference in Dublin on Tuesday, almost lost in the discussion about Ireland’s need to locate a cutting edge was the manager’s low key reference to Kevin Doyle “suffering a bit from concussion”.

In an U21 qualifying group which underdogs Kosovo have taken the early initiative, victory for Ireland in Azerbaijan today (4pm Irish time) is a must for their 2019 European Championship hopes.

From supporting Ireland at Euro fanzones last summer to being part of the squad aiming for World Cup qualification, Callum O’Dowda has enjoyed quite a year.

There were only a couple of selection decisions Martin O’Neill needed to be convinced of last night and Kevin Long did well enough against Uruguay to show he’s capable of stepping up to the challenge of a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

Ireland newcomer Declan Rice says he is trying to impress Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane in Cork this week but there are no plans for the centre-back, eligible through his late grandparents from Douglas in Cork, to travel to America next week.

He was still a coach, still getting into a player’s head, determining who needed cajoling, who would be incentivised by reward, all to elicit a better account of themselves, writes Michael Clifford

Uefa U21 European Championship qualifier

Ireland U21 boss Noel King has strenuously denied pursuing Northern Ireland-born players for his squad following allegations made by Michael O’Neill.

Ireland U-21 1, Serbia U-21 3: Ireland’s U21 Euro campaign ended on a losing note last night, despite Noel King’s troops taking the lead at the Waterford RSC against a classy Serbian outfit.

Noel King has challenged his Republic of Ireland Under-21s side to go out with a bang as they look to end their qualifying campaign with victory over Serbia.

Not once but twice has Ireland U21 skipper Tommie Hoban overcome injuries which have threatened to end his career before it can even take flight.

Cork City 4 Bray Wanderers 0: Red hot Cork City made it 13 goals in three games as they moved to within one point of leaders Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League premier division with an emphatic victory over Bray Wanderers at Turners Cross last night.

FAI chief John Delaney and Ireland team manager Martin O’Neill were among the mourners yesterday at the funeral Mass for Milo Corcoran, a former FAI president who leaves “many, many legacies”.

Four prospects for the World Cup qualifiers...

Tears welling up in his eyes, Robbie Brady paused to reaffirm Ireland’s tendency of thriving in the face of adversity. It’s hardly surprising the trend has surged since his arrival on the scene given the personal history he’s endured in overcoming the odds.

The Football Association of Ireland have enlisted five former Republic of Ireland players in their international coaching set-up.

More than 800 young innovators from across Europe will take part in the fifth annual CoderDojo Coolest Projects Awards at the RDS on Saturday, when more than 10,000 spectators are expected to take in demonstrations of the apps, websites, animation, games, and robots among this year’s submissions.

Plotting a route through the professional ranks in the shadow of his famous father has never been a chore for the newest Ireland U21 recruit, Niall Keown.

Ireland’s U21 Euro ambitions are in disarray after Italy inflicted a heavy defeat on Noel King’s side last night despite them racing into an early lead.

Roy Keane is refusing to fix a boundary to the march of the nation at Euro 2016.

Ireland U21 boss Noel King is adamant Alan Browne will continue to be monitored by Martin O’Neill despite injury robbing the Cork native of the chance of impressing with the senior squad this week.

Martin O’Neill might not have had any fresh news to report on the state of his contract negotiations with the FAI yesterday but, as he unveiled a 40-strong Ireland squad which includes three players wholly new to the international scene, he gave a strong hint that, as Ireland manager, he’s already looking beyond even Euro 2016.

Ireland 0 Norway 0: Ireland’s U21s completed 2015 with a stalemate against a powerful Norway side at the Waterford RSC last night.