Following the final whistle at the postponed game between Manchester United and Bournemouth at Old Trafford, and with it the completion of the Premier League 2015/16 season, we've started to compile the end of season appearance statistics for Irish players for the season, starting with the number of appearances for Irish players in the top division in England.
| Player | Starts | Intro | Total |
|---|
| Glenn Whelan | 37 | 0 | 37 |
| Robbie Brady | 34 | 2 | 36 |
| James McClean | 27 | 7 | 34 |
| Damien Delaney | 32 | 0 | 32 |
| Wes Hoolahan | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| James McCarthy | 29 | 0 | 29 |
| John O'Shea | 23 | 5 | 28 |
| Shane Long | 23 | 5 | 28 |
| Seamus Coleman | 27 | 1 | 28 |
| Jonathan Walters | 18 | 9 | 27 |
| Robert Elliot | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Harry Arter | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Ciaran Clark | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| Eunan O'Kane | 6 | 10 | 16 |
| Stephen Ireland | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Darron Gibson | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Darren Randolph | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Marc Wilson | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Kevin Toner | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Shay Given | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Josh Cullen | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 354 | 69 | 423 |
Unfortunately, it's bad news for fans of the boys in green, with five less players appearing in Premier League games, and the total appearances down almost 15% from 497 in the 2014/15 season to 423.
Between relegation, transfers, retirements, and Jack Grealish, 12 Irish players from the previous season did not appear in 2015/16, and were replaced by 7 players who didn't appear in the Premier League last season - James McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Harry Arter, Eunan O'Kane, Darren Randolph, Kevin Toner, and Josh Cullen.
Of the players that remained in the Premier League, five had more appearances than in 2014/15 - Robert Elliot, Glenn Whelan, Robbie Brady, Damien Delaney, and James McCarthy - with Newcastle's Player of the Season Robert Elliot taking advantage of the injury crisis at St James' Park to play 18 more games, before unfortunately getting injured himself on international duty. Eight players played less games - Darron Gibson, Shane Long, Stephen Ireland, Jonathan Walters, Seamus Coleman, Ciaran Clark, John O'Shea, and Marc Wilson - with Wilson's injury hit season meaning he played 23 times less than in 2014/15
Following the relegation of Aston Villa, Newcastle and Norwich, their Irish players Ciaran Clark, Kevin Toner, Robert Elliot, Wes Hoolahan, and Robbie Brady (relegated for the second season in a row!) will all be plying their trade outside the top division next season, with Burnley's Stephen Ward and Kevin Long replacing them. Fellow promoted side Middlesbrough have no Irish players in their squad, while Play Off Finalists Hull City have David Meyler and Brian Lenihan facing off against Sheffield Wednesday's Keiren Westwood and loanee Aiden McGeady, who will be returning to parent club Everton following the end of the season.
One crumb of comfort is that the players who did appear in the
Premier League this season played, on average, one game more than those
in 2014/15
