Mick McCarthy and Seamus Coleman have paid tribute in Gibraltar to Jon Walters, after the striker announced that injury has forced him to retire from football, bringing to a close an illustrious Irish career which saw him score 14 goals in 54 appearances.

Jon Walters has announced his retirement this afternoon.

Enda Stevens is putting his dreams of Premier League football to one side as he targets a key role in Ireland’s Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

As The Who once put it: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Also included is Aston Villa's Glenn Whelan, who was expected to have played his last game for Ireland after captaining the side in a 36-minute ceremonial cameo against Northern Ireland in November.

Martin O’Neill wants to bring the “tough to handle” Roy Keane with him to Nottingham Forest, and claimed that Ireland would never have qualified for the 2016 European Championships without his former assistant.

We’ve learned a lot about Mick McCarthy over the years in his press conferences and TV appearances...

Martin O'Neill says he is still hopeful Declan Rice will commit his international future to the Republic of Ireland, but admits some circumstances favour England.

Midfielder Glenn Whelan will lead Ireland out as captain against Northern Ireland for what will be his 85th senior appearance. The Aston Villa man will not be part of the squad for the Denmark game.

We are the rats, the Aviva Stadium is our lab, and we’re going to get our arses electrocuted no matter what happens, writes Tommy Martin

So it’s Denmark at the Aviva again and, at his pre-match press conference yesterday, Martin O’Neill finally succumbed to the inevitable and let slip the ‘r’ word.

A colleague recently posted a fantastic photo of his newborn son, eyes fiercely blazing, face all scrunched up, the very picture of a tiny Mr Angry. Another colleague was quick to respond that it surely wasn’t good parenting to have exposed one so tender to the brutal highlights of Ireland 1, Denmark 5, writes Liam Mackey.

James McClean will welcome Declan Rice back into the Republic of Ireland squad with open arms should the West Ham United player opt against a switch of allegiance to England and stick with the Boys in Green.

Martin O’Neill has accused Alan Shearer of not doing his homework before singling out Cyrus Christie for criticism on MOTD2.

In his autobiography, A Life in Questions, the broadcaster Jeremy Paxman relates a memorable exchange between John Major and Boris Yeltsin, as described by the former British prime minister.

If you remember, it was Muhammad Ali started it, not Mick McCarthy or Ian Evans or even Tom Humphries’ interview.

Niall Quinn knows what it is to suffer Roy Keane’s wrath.

Brian Kerr expects the Republic of Ireland side will do enough next month for Martin O’Neill to ride out the remnants of the storm that has engulfed the Derryman in the last week.

Keith Andrews believes that if Ireland lose both games and badly underperform in next month’s Nations League double header at the Aviva, there will be no way back for the Martin O’Neill/Roy Keane management team.

Audrey has been sorting out Cork people for ages...

Martin O’Neill has said that Stephen Ward’s leaked account of the row involving Roy Keane, Harry Arter and Jon Walters has no implications for the Burnley man’s international career.

Martin O’Neill has said that Roy Keane is ready to have a “reconciliation” with Harry Arter.

Whatever this was, friendly or competitive fare, it was carnage. And who’s to say it will get any better?

Ciarán Clark admits the decision by his Ireland teammate Declan Rice to stall his international career came as a major shock.

Glenn Whelan will be given the honour of leading Ireland out against Northern Ireland in the friendly at the Aviva in November.

Very few of us paid attention when Greg Cunningham’s transfer from Preston to Cardiff City went through in June.

Martin O’Neill needs firepower up top — and quick, writes John Fallon.

Séamus Coleman and Martin O’Neill have called on Ireland’s new breed to lay down a marker against France tonight.

There are seven forwards named in Martin O’Neill’s provisional squad for the upcoming summer friendlies against Celtic, France, and the USA.

In calling up Declan Rice to his squad for this month’s training camp and friendly in Turkey, Martin O’Neill has stressed that the highly-rated young West Ham defender, who is still eligible to play senior football for both Ireland and England, will not come under any pressure to decide his international future.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is anxiously awaiting a fitness report on leading scorer Mohamed Salah as he prepares for a second match inside 48 hours, writes Carl Markham

Kieran Shannon reflects on the ever growing importance of the Relative Age Effect in  underage sport.

Burnley climbed into the Champions League places as Ashley Barnes' late winner earned them a 1-0 victory over troubled Stoke.

Christine Keeler was the girl at the heart of the notorious Profumo affair in 1963 which rocked the British establishment, convulsed Westminster and ultimately contributed to the downfall of the beleaguered Tory government the following year.

Liam Brady believes the lack of emerging talent is linked to Kerr’s absence from an active role in Irish football and that he should be brought back into the fold.

Darren Randolph has admitted his shock at the manner of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off nightmare.

Rep of Ireland 1 Denmark 5

The moments that mattered at the Aviva last night.

Right, here we go. Time to give the checklist a final once-over.

This is Ireland’s ninth time to be involved in a play-off for the right to participate at a major tournament.

If I come away from the studios tonight having enjoyed the game in Copenhagen, I will be surprised if our last match in Cardiff has proved to be the template — although a repeat of the same result would certainly be very welcome.

Someone in the Garda Press Office has posted a cheeky joke - with an important message - ahead of Ireland’s match with Denmark on Saturday.

It’s not often that the great minds of the Irish management team and the Irish media think alike but such was the case this week when we asked Roy Keane for his thoughts on how Shane Duffy has progressed to the point where he is now widely regarded as the rock of the Irish defence and one of the most consistent centre-halves in the Premier League.