Tomorrow will mark the sixth anniversary of Ireland’s Euro 2016 victory over Italy in Lille, the nation’s last in a major tournament. In fact, it is the only one Ireland have managed in the last 22 years.
That game was one of the most memorable occasions in Irish football history. While it was not a full strength Italian side, Robbie Brady’s winning goal has joined those from the likes of Ray Houghton and Robbie Keane as one our finest moments on the big stage.
Now six years removed from that game, here’s where the Ireland players who featured on that day are now.
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The Ireland team that beat Italy at Euro 2016 – Where are they now?
Darren Randolph
Darren Randolph established himself as Ireland’s first choice goalkeeper during the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, a position he would hold for the half decade that followed.
He has found playing time hard to come by at club level in recent times, not making a single appearance since the 2020/21 campaign. He acted as backup at Bournemouth this season, although he is now a free agent.
In his personal life, Randolph has been in a relationship with X Factor winner Alexandra Burke for a number of years, with the pair sharing one child together.
Seamus Coleman
Now 35-years old, Seamus Coleman is still an important player at both club and international level. He captains both Everton and Ireland, signing a new contract at Goodison Park in recent days.
The Donegal man has overcome a couple of serious injuries over the last number of years. Despite those struggles, he still performs at an incredibly high level whenever he takes to the pitch.
Shane Duffy
After making his mark with Ireland during this tournament, Shane Duffy became an incredibly important player in green over the following few years.
He has not quite held that status over the last couple of seasons, although he was brought back into the fold by Stephen Kenny towards the end of 2023 and has remained there under John O’Shea.
At club level, Duffy did struggle to find a permanent home ever since becoming surplus to requirements at Brighton. Moves to Celtic and Fulham did not work out, but he was a mainstay in the Norwich side this season.
The 32-year old was in the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent times, being charged with drink-driving last month.
Richard Keogh
Richard Keogh would have another couple of years left at international after this tournament, although that infamous car accident after a night out in 2019 with the Derby County squad would have a massive impact on his career.
Keogh would suffer a serious knee injury during the incident, where he was a passenger when teammates Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett got behind the wheel under the influence. Whereas the Ireland defender was dismissed by his club for ‘gross misconduct’, the players who drove the cars were fined six weeks’ wages.
He would ultimately take legal action against Derby as a result of that decision, where it was ruled that he was unfairly dismissed and was awarded £2.3million in compensation.
Keogh would go on to have spells at Ipswich Town, Blackpool, Wycombe Wanderers, and Forest Green after his lengthy recovery from injury, before retiring from football in May of this year. He would never feature for Ireland again.
Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward would earn 50 caps for Ireland during his playing career, continuing in the side at left back up until 2018. He retired from football altogether in 2022 after a spell at Wycombe Wanderers.
Since then, the Dubliner has moved into the world of football administration.
He was appointed as the Director of Football at National League club Solihull Moors last summer, an experience he spoke to Balls about a few months ago. The club would come agonisingly close to securing promotion to the EFL last month, losing out to Bromley on penalties in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
Jeff Hendrick
Jeff Hendrick was in sensational form at Euro 2016, pointing towards a bright future at both club and international level. While he has since put together a decent career, it’s fair to say that he never quite hit those heights again.
Hendrick was a first choice player for Ireland up until the last couple of seasons, racking up 79 caps at senior level. At club level, his form in this tournament convinced Burnley to fork out a club record fee of £10.5million to bring him to Turf Moor.
He was a consistent performer for Burnley over the years that followed, although he was usually played out of position as a wide player. His subsequent move to Newcastle United in 2020 was an unmitigated disaster, finding himself left out of the first team squad after his first season at the club.
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Hendrick has since had loan spells at the likes of QPR, Reading, and Sheffield Wednesday. The latter of those came this season, where he made just 11 league appearances. He is now a free agent after his Newcastle deal finally expired this month.
James McCarthy
Despite some periods of fantastic form, James McCarthy would have a very difficult time with injuries in the years that followed this tournament.
The end of his time at Everton was plagued with fitness issues, and while he would experience a renaissance at Crystal Palace for a time, it wasn’t long before those problems resurfaced.
His move to Celtic in 2021 has not worked out for any of the parties involved, managing just 12 league appearances in Glasgow. He still has one year remaining on his contract.
Robbie Brady
Robbie Brady would score the only goal in this game, and much like Hendrick, his performances in France would result in quite a bit of interest at club level.
He would also end up at Burnley, where he experienced a mix spell in four and-a-half seasons. He would then have an unsuccessful spell at Bournemouth, before finding his feet at Preston North End over the last couple of seasons.
While no longer a central figure in the Ireland team, at 32-years old he is selected more often than not when fit and available.
James McClean
McClean would earn 103 caps for Ireland during his international career, retiring from Ireland duties in November of last year. He would join League Two club Wrexham last summer, helping them to promotion at the first attempt.
The Derry man would also make his punditry debut in recent days, making waves with his comments in the RTÉ studio during Euro 2024.
Daryl Murphy
A player who had a late career salvo with Ireland, Daryl Murphy established himself as important player in the team during Martin O’Neill’s tenure. He would amass 32 international caps by the time he retired from that level in 2017.
The striker would go on to spend time at Nottingham Forest, Bolton, and Waterford from that point onwards. That spell would include a six-week suspension after testing positive for cocaine while at Forest back in 2018, although the ban would not become public knowledge until over a year later.
Since retiring in 2021, he has been playing for local club St Joseph’s in Waterford, including scoring the winner in the Matt Stafford Division 4 Cup final earlier this month.
Shane Long
Having earned 88 caps and scored 17 goals across a 14-year international career, Shane Long is one of the most prolific strikers in Ireland’s history.
He was also a consistent performer at club level, spending the vast majority of his career playing at Premier League level. He would hang up his boots in 2023 after a second spell at Reading.
Long had a long period as a starter in the Ireland team, although he would be phased out under Stephen Kenny. That is something he found difficult, especially when asked to hand over the no. 9 jersey to an inexperienced Adam Idah.
Substitutes
Aiden McGeady
Aiden McGeady is still plugging away at club level, lining out for Scottish Championship club Ayr United where he also acts as a technical director.
The second half of the winger’s career was rather odd, moving to Sunderland at a time when the club were in free fall. He was frozen out of the first team picture after refusing to leave and give up his hefty pay package, although he would eventually force his way back in.
He will hang up his boots at the end of next season, at which point he will pursue a full-time technical director role.
Wes Hoolahan
Wes Hoolahan should have ended his international career with far more than the 43 caps that he did amass, with the Dubliner retiring from international football in 2017.
He would plug away at club level for a number of years after that point, having spells at West Brom and in Australia before helping Cambridge United to promotion from League Two at the age of 40 in 2021. He was nominated for the league’s player of the season at the end of the campaign.
He officially hung up his boots in 2022, although he would briefly be tempted out of retirement to play for English 11th-tier club Doncaster City earlier this year.
Stephen Quinn
Stephen Quinn had a fairly brief international career, earning 18 caps for Ireland from 2013-2016. In fact, he would feature only two more times in green after this game.
The Dubliner continued to plug away at club level in the years that followed, having significant spells at Reading, Burton Albion, and Mansfield Town.
Now 38-years old, he is coming off the back of an impressive League Two campaign with Mansfield, scoring four goals and registering 12 assists as they secured promotion to League One.
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