50 Cap Club

James McClean's start against Mexico was the Derryman's 50th cap for the Republic of Ireland, the 38th player to pass the milestone for their country.
We've examined the records and come up with some interesting facts about the other members of the list.

First
The first player to earn 50 caps for the Republic of Ireland was John Giles. It took the midfielder more than 17 years to amass the total from his debut against Sweden in 1959, only a few days short of his 19th birthday, until June 1977 away to Bulgaria. Giles also took the longest to earn his caps, although there were fewer international games during his career.

Fastest
Only Glenn Whelan earned his 50 caps in a shorter timespan than McClean. The midfielder's 50th international appearance came 1908 days after being given his debut by Giovanni Trapattoni, narrowly ahead of McClean's half century which came 1920 days after his first appearance by the same manager.

Starts and Introductions
John Giles, Mick Martin, Liam Brady, Packie Bonner, Ray Houghton and Steve Staunton started every one of their first 50 appearances. Shane Long is the only player to have started fewer games than McClean on his way to 50 caps, the striker started 23 and was introduced in 27 games, coincidentally a perfect reflection of McClean's 27 starts and 23 introductions.

Youngest/Oldest
Robbie Keane is the youngest player to reach the landmark. The striker earned his 50th cap against Romania in May 2004, aged 23 years and 10 months. John Giles was the oldest player to earn his caps, at 36 years, 6 months.

Player	First Appearance	50th Appearance	Starts	Intro	Age	Time Taken
John Giles	1 November 1959	1 June 1977	50	0	36 years, 6 months	17 years, 7 months
Paddy Mulligan	4 May 1969	29 October 1979	48	2	34 years, 7 months	10 years, 5 months
Don Givens	27 May 1969	30 April 1980	47	3	30 years, 8 months	10 years, 11 months
Mick Martin	10 October 1971	17 November 1982	50	0	31 years, 4 months	11 years, 1 months
Liam Brady	30 October 1974	26 March 1985	50	0	29 years, 1 months	10 years, 4 months
Frank Stapleton	13 October 1976	25 May 1986	49	1	29 years, 11 months	9 years, 7 months
David O'Leary	8 September 1976	27 May 1990	47	3	32 years, 0 months	13 years, 8 months
Chris Hughton	29 October 1979	2 June 1990	46	4	31 years, 5 months	10 years, 7 months
Kevin Moran	30 April 1980	2 June 1990	48	2	34 years, 1 months	10 years, 1 months
Mick McCarthy	23 May 1984	14 November 1990	49	1	31 years, 9 months	6 years, 5 months
Packie Bonner	24 May 1981	1 June 1991	50	0	31 years, 0 months	10 years, 0 months
Paul McGrath	5 February 1985	25 March 1992	45	5	32 years, 3 months	7 years, 1 months
John Aldridge	26 March 1986	18 November 1992	42	8	34 years, 2 months	6 years, 7 months
Ray Houghton	26 March 1986	28 April 1993	50	0	31 years, 3 months	7 years, 1 months
Ronnie Whelan Jnr	29 April 1981	29 May 1994	38	12	32 years, 8 months	13 years, 1 months
Tony Cascarino	11 September 1985	5 June 1994	28	22	31 years, 9 months	8 years, 8 months
Steve Staunton	19 October 1988	28 June 1994	50	0	25 years, 5 months	5 years, 8 months
Andy Townsend	7 February 1989	7 September 1994	45	5	31 years, 1 months	5 years, 7 months
Niall Quinn	25 May 1986	3 June 1995	37	13	28 years, 7 months	9 years, 0 months
Denis Irwin	12 September 1990	18 November 1998	48	2	33 years, 0 months	8 years, 2 months
Roy Keane	22 May 1991	24 March 2001	49	1	29 years, 6 months	9 years, 10 months
Gary Kelly	23 March 1994	16 June 2002	41	9	28 years, 0 months	8 years, 2 months
Jason McAteer	23 March 1994	21 August 2002	34	16	31 years, 2 months	8 years, 4 months
Gary Breen	29 May 1996	16 October 2002	46	4	28 years, 10 months	6 years, 4 months
Shay Given	27 March 1996	30 April 2003	49	1	26 years, 10 months	7 years, 1 months
Ian Harte	2 June 1996	19 August 2003	44	6	25 years, 11 months	7 years, 2 months
Kenny Cunningham	24 April 1996	6 September 2003	44	6	32 years, 2 months	7 years, 4 months
Kevin Kilbane	6 September 1997	11 October 2003	41	9	26 years, 8 months	6 years, 1 months
Robbie Keane	25 March 1998	27 May 2004	47	3	23 years, 10 months	6 years, 2 months
Damien Duff	25 March 1998	9 February 2005	41	9	25 years, 11 months	6 years, 10 months
Steven Finnan	26 April 2000	17 November 2007	40	10	31 years, 6 months	7 years, 6 months
John O'Shea	15 August 2001	19 November 2008	49	1	27 years, 6 months	7 years, 3 months
Richard Dunne	26 April 2000	1 April 2009	43	7	29 years, 6 months	8 years, 11 months
Aidan McGeady	2 June 2004	10 June 2012	31	19	26 years, 2 months	8 years, 0 months
Kevin Doyle	1 March 2006	18 June 2012	47	3	28 years, 9 months	6 years, 3 months
Glenn Whelan	24 May 2008	14 August 2013	48	2	29 years, 7 months	5 years, 2 months
Shane Long	7 February 2007	14 November 2014	23	27	27 years, 9 months	7 years, 9 months
James McClean	29 February 2012	2 June 2017	27	23	28 years, 1 months	5 years, 3 months