But is he? MOTD appear to have taken their lead from the statistics available on premierleague.com. If you open the Player Stats link on the website, and change the filter settings to the following:💯🇮🇪— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) October 5, 2019
Aaron Connolly is the 100th player from the Republic of Ireland to score a Premier League goal.#MOTD pic.twitter.com/AAIGy6Ukq3
- Filter By Season: "All Seasons"
- Filter By Nationality: "Ireland"
However, here at Irish Abroad, we have a list of 107 players, either born in Ireland, or who have earned FAI caps at senior or underage level, who have scored in England's top division.
So, who are these six players who are not registered as Irish on premierleague.com, and who is the real 100th Irish player to score in the Premier League?
1. Lee Power
The Norwich forward was only 20 when he scored his first goal for Norwich in the Premier League against Crystal Palace in August 1992, and scored five more time for the Canaries in the league in the 1992/93 season. Qualifying to play for the Republic through his Waterford-born grandfather, he played thirteen times for the U21 side, scoring twice, and in a B international against Denmark in 1992, but never earned a senior cap
2. Mike Milligan
Manchester born Milligan appeared for Oldham and Norwich in the Premier League, scoring three times for the Latics in 1992/93, and twice for the Canaries in 1994/95. He represented Ireland at U21, U23, B, and once at senior level when he replaced Denis Irwin against the USA in a friendly in April 1992
3. Andy Turner
Turner set the record as the youngest goalscorer in the Premier League when, at 17 years and 166 days, he scored the first of his three league goals in the 1992/93 season. The record would stand until May 1997 when it was broken by Michael Owen. Turner earned several caps for the Ireland U21 side, but never played at senior international level
4, Jon Goodman
Goodman scored eleven times for Wimbledon in the Premier League across the 1994/95, 1995/96, and 1996/97 seasons. He qualified to play for Ireland after his father, who had been adopted, discovered links to Galway when tracing his heritage. Once it was clarified that this meant Goodman was eligible to play for the Republic, he was called up by Mick McCarthy and made his debut against Wales in 1997. Goodman would go on to earn three more caps for the Boys in Green
5. Liam Daish
Daish made the first of his five appearances for Ireland in February 1992 against Wales while playing for Cambridge in the then-Second Division, now rebranded as the Championship. He appeared in the Premier League for Coventry in 1995/96 and 1996/96, scoring once in both seasons. The move to the Sky Blues resulted in his recall to the Ireland squad, where he earned three caps in 1996
6. Gareth Whalley
Whalley started his career at Crewe, where manager Dario Gradi recommended him to Mick McCarthy during his first tenure as Ireland manager. McCarthy subsequently called the midfielder into several senior squads, but he never earned a senior cap. Following a move to Bradford in 1998, he went on to appear in the Premier League for the Bantams in the 1999/2000 and 2000/01 seasons, scoring once in the former
7. Matthew Rush
Qualifying through his Irish-born mother, Rush was called into the Ireland U21 side in 1991, going on to make four appearances. After returning from a loan during the 1993/94 season, Rush scored his first Premier League goal, and notched two more the following season.
So, taking into account that these Irish players have scored in the Premier League, who was the 100th Irish player to score in the Premier League? It's midfielder Harry Arter, who scored his first Premier League goal in Bournemouth's 3-1 loss to West Ham on Tuesday, 12th January 2016.
Full List of Irish Premier League goalscorers
| # | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bernie Slaven |
| 2 | Eddie McGoldrick |
| 3 | Denis Irwin |
| 4 | Ronnie Whelan |
| 5 | Niall Quinn |
| 6 | Mike Milligan |
| 7 | Lee Power |
| 8 | Alan Kernaghan |
| 9 | Steve Staunton |
| 10 | Matthew Rush |
| 11 | Andy Turner |
| 12 | Andy Townsend |
| 13 | Chris Morris |
| 14 | Kevin Moran |
| 15 | Ray Houghton |
| 16 | Roy Keane |
| 17 | Paul McGrath |
| 18 | John Sheridan |
| 19 | Jeff Kenna |
| 20 | Tony Cascarino |
| 21 | Liam O'Brien |
| 22 | Phil Babb |
| 23 | Terry Phelan |
| 24 | Jon Goodman |
| 25 | Liam Daish |
| 26 | Graham Kavanagh |
| 27 | Curtis Fleming |
| 28 | Ian Harte |
| 29 | Gary Kelly |
| 30 | Jason McAteer |
| 31 | Michael Evans |
| 32 | Lee Carsley |
| 33 | Damien Duff |
| 34 | Gary Breen |
| 35 | Gareth Farrelly |
| 36 | Clinton Morrison |
| # | Player |
|---|---|
| 37 | Mark Kinsella |
| 38 | Rory Delap |
| 39 | Robbie Keane |
| 40 | Paul Butler |
| 41 | Stephen Carr |
| 42 | Michael Reddy |
| 43 | Stephen McPhail |
| 44 | Gareth Whalley |
| 45 | Andy O'Brien |
| 46 | Alan Quinn |
| 47 | Kevin Kilbane |
| 48 | Dominic Foley |
| 49 | Matt Holland |
| 50 | Gary Doherty |
| 51 | Alan Mahon |
| 52 | Sean Thornton |
| 53 | John O'Shea |
| 54 | Mark Kennedy |
| 55 | Jonathan Macken |
| 56 | Jonathan Douglas |
| 57 | Steve Finnan |
| 58 | Willo Flood |
| 59 | Steven Reid |
| 60 | Stephen Kelly |
| 61 | Richard Dunne |
| 62 | Andy Reid |
| 63 | David Connolly |
| 64 | Stephen Elliott |
| 65 | Liam Lawrence |
| 66 | Daryl Murphy |
| 67 | Stephen Ireland |
| 68 | Stephen Quinn |
| 69 | Shane Long |
| 70 | Caleb Folan |
| 71 | Stephen Hunt |
| 72 | Kevin Doyle |
| # | Player |
|---|---|
| 73 | Liam Miller |
| 74 | Anthony Stokes |
| 75 | Keith Andrews |
| 76 | Paul McShane |
| 77 | Glenn Whelan |
| 78 | Darron Gibson |
| 79 | Andy Keogh |
| 80 | James McCarthy |
| 81 | Jonathan Walters |
| 82 | Seamus Coleman |
| 83 | Keith Fahey |
| 84 | Kevin Foley |
| 85 | Ciaran Clark |
| 86 | Marc Wilson |
| 87 | Stephen Ward |
| 88 | Leon Best |
| 89 | Simon Cox |
| 90 | Conor Sammon |
| 91 | Wes Hoolahan |
| 92 | Anthony Pilkington |
| 93 | James McClean |
| 94 | Noel Hunt |
| 95 | Joey O'Brien |
| 96 | Robbie Brady |
| 97 | David Meyler |
| 98 | Damien Delaney |
| 99 | Aiden McGeady |
| 100 | Harry Arter |
| 101 | Jeff Hendrick |
| 102 | Kevin Long |
| 103 | Shane Duffy |
| 104 | Matt Doherty |
| 105 | Michael Obafemi |
| 106 | Callum Robinson |
| 107 | Aaron Connolly |
| 108 | Conor Hourihane |
