Paul McGrath

In the Autumn of 1982, McGrath made his first Manchester United appearance in an encounter against Spurs at Old Trafford. During the 1985 FA Cup final, McGrath won wide acknowledgement for putting the defensive shackles on Everton forward, Graeme Sharp. The improvement of the Irishman had not gone unnoticed over the Irish Sea and he was picked to play for the Republic of Ireland.
McGrath departed Old Trafford in 1989 and switched club to Aston Villa, in his first season at Villa, they only let in 38 goals, a record second only to the league title winners, Liverpool. He played for Eire during the 1990 and 1994 world cup finals.

Kevin Sheedy

Sheedy switched to Everton from Liverpool in the year 1982 and he made an immediate impact at Everton. The 1984-85 season was one of his best; he netted in 11 league goals as Everton won the first division championship. Sheedy was a crucial member of the Evertonian first eleven during their successful FA Cup campaigns during the 80’s. He played for the Republic of Ireland during Euro 88 and scored for them in the 1990 world cup finals.  

John Aldridge

Aldridge was a permanent fixture in the Eire squad during the late 1980’s and early 90’s, playing in the 1988 European championships and the 1990 and 1994 world cups.
In the spring of 1984, John Aldridge was hunted by Oxford United and during his three years at the club, he netted in a total of 72 league and cup goals and in the process he carried Oxford to victory in the final of the League Cup (Littlewoods Cup). He signed for Liverpool in 1987. In his 83 appearances for Liverpool, Aldridge scored a prolific 51 goals, to this day one of the best goal scoring ratios ever in English football. In 1989 he moved to Spanish outfit, Real Sociedad and then tranferred back to Merseyside few years later, this time starring for lower division club, Tranmere Rovers.

Ray Houghton

In the year 1982, Houghton commenced his football playing career at Fulham and he soon established a reputation as a tough working ballplayer in the mid midfield area. He spent 4 years with the club, in total, starring 129 times and netting in 16 goals. He then went on to spend 2 years playing for Oxford, helping the outfit win the league cup in 1986 and soon earned international recognition with the Republic of Ireland. Houghton moved to Liverpool in 1987, helping the club win the league championship on two occasions and his reputation continued to progress at the side. He made a name for himself during the 1988 European championships as he headed a winning goal against England. Between 1992 and 1995, Houghton transferred on to star for Aston Villa. His greatest moment during his football career would be regarded as the incredible winning strike he scored against Italy during the 1994 world cup, a match that Eire won 1-0.

Bernie Slaven

After a fine spell playing for Scottish football outfit, Albion Rovers, Slaven moved on to play for Middlesbrough, moving to the club for £25,000. He went on to make an outstanding contribution at Middlesbrough during his very successful era with the club, in total making over 380 appearances and scoring an incredible 146 goals. His fine play for Boro earned him a role to star for the Republic of Ireland during the 1990 world cup finals. Slaven spent over fifteen years playing for Boro, thought now by many as an all time great at the Middlesbrough.