Dennis Irwin was born in Cork on October 31st 1965. He showed considerable promise as a Hurler in his youth but he moved across the water to join English Second-Division side Leeds United in 1983. Irwin made more than 90 appearances for the Yorkshire club before he was sold to Oldham Athletic in 1985. It is widely-regarded that out of the 167 League appearances Irwin made for Oldham, the most significant were his performances in Oldham's FA Cup Semi-Final matches against Manchester United. Pitted against the stars of Old Trafford, Irwin acquitted himself superbly. He did so well that the watching United manager, Alex Ferguson, spent £600,000 on Irwin very soon afterwards.

Irwin's defensive solidity, combined with his effectiveness going forward, had a huge impact on United's fortunes. It is no small coincidence that during his time at the club, United became the best club in England - winning matches with a combination of attacking flair and sound defensive qualities. Irwin was a key figure in all of this - equally comfortable at left-back as he was at right-back. Irwin was also a formidable free-kick taker too: in the words of United manager Alex Ferguson "He's got the lot!"

A youthful Dennis Irwin circa. 1990.

During his time at Old Trafford, Irwin's collection of medals speaks volumes: winner of the 1991 European Cup-Winners' Cup; winner of the 1991 European Super Cup; winner of the 1992 League Cup; winner of the 1993 League Championship; winner of the 1994 League Championship; winner of the 1994 FA Cup; Runner-up in the 1994 League Cup; Runner-up in the 1995 FA Cup; winner of the 1996 League Championship; winner of the 1996 FA Cup; The list goes on and on. The pinnacle of Irwin's professional career was in 1999 when he collected a Champions' League Winners medal. There are very few (if any) other Irish players who have a collection of medals that are as impressive as Irwin's!

Irwin made his debut for Ireland against Morocco on September 12th 1990. His inclusion in the team was at the expense of Chris Morris and it was Irwin who would be the reason why Morris - one of Ireland's stalwarts of both Euro '88 and Italia '90 - left International football so suddenly. Irwin found that under Jack Charlton his role in the Irish team was more of a defensive one. Charlton liked Irwin because of the consistently high defensive performances he delivered. Irwin was a key figure for Ireland at the 1994 World Cup Finals - he played in two of Ireland's matches including the memorable victory over Italy in New York.

Irwin in action during Ireland's 1-0 win over Italy in the 1994 World Cup Finals.

The 1994 World Cup saw the introduction of another Irish star on the big stage - Gary Kelly. Kelly took the Right-back position from Irwin during the finals (he played at Irwin's expense against Norway and Holland), and continued to play at Right-back in the matches that followed the World Cup. However, Irwin's versatility was demonstrated by the ease with which he slotted into the Left-back position.

Dennis Irwin is arguably Ireland's finest ever full-back. He won six League Championships, three FA Cups, and three major European medals with his club, Manchester United. He played a total of 56 caps for Ireland, scoring four goals in the process. He now continues to play professionally for Wolverhampton Wanderers in England but is retired from International football.