Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all the Irish Hammers that support West Ham!

It’s a slightly strange time to be an Irish West Ham fan. There are no Irish players in the current squad, and our national team must take on Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal’s Czech Republic this month if we want to qualify for this summer’s World Cup – if Big Tom scores against us and hits the helicopter celebration, I may never recover.

But with the day that’s in it, I would like to take this opportunity to look back at some of the Irish players that have played for our beloved football club.

Darren Randolph played 52 games for the Irons over two spells and is the most significant Irish Hammer of recent times. The goalkeeper, who was capped 50 times for his country, played in the final game at Upton Park, where the Hammers beat Manchester United 3-2. Randolph was a good shot-stopper, but his vulnerability from crosses meant he never really nailed down the No. 1 position in East London. The 38-year-old has now retired.

Josh Cullen & Conor Coventry are two current Irish national team players that came through the West Ham academy. Both players featured heavily for the Irons’ academy, but only made 10 senior appearances each for the Hammers. Cullen is now the Burnley captain and has 47 caps for his country. However, he suffered an ACL injury in December and could miss the World Cup if Ireland qualify.

Coventry now plays for Charlton Athletic in the Championship and made his Ireland debut in a huge 2-0 victory over Portugal in November. He is yet to be capped since. He was also in the Hammers’ UEFA Conference League winning squad of 2023, featuring three times in the competition.

Joey O’Brien played for the Hammers between 2011 and 2016. Signed under Sam Allardyce upon the Irons’ relegation to the Championship, the right-back played 105 games for the Irons, the second-most of any Irish player in history. He was capped six times for Ireland and played more games for the Irons than any other team in his career.

Arsenal great Liam Brady spent three years in East London at the end of his playing career. Signed in January 1987, Brady played 96 times for West Ham, scoring eight goals. He made his Ireland debut in 1974, receiving 72 caps before his retirement from the game in 1990.

Finally, the Irish player with the most West Ham appearances in history is a man named Noel Cantwell. Signed from Cork in 1952, he played 123 games for the Hammers before being sold to Manchester United for £33,000 in 1960. He made his Ireland debut as a West Ham player in 1953, and would go on to score 15 goals in 37 appearances – not too shabby for a full-back!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and “Tar ar aghaidh, a Iarainn!” (Come on You Irons!)