Ireland first qualified for a major competition in Euro 88 in Germany unfortunately they couldn't find a way past the first round. Even though they beat England. They then went on to qualify for the World Cup two years later and managed to reach the quarter finals.

In recent aulifying camppaigns Ireland have failed to make an impact and have hired several managers. In an attempt to qualify for Euro 2008 they came up 10 points short winning just four of their 12 matches. They were unbeaten at home though winning 3 and drawing 3 of their 6 home games.