On Saturday evening, Katie McCabe and Arsenal will take on Barcelona in the Champions League final, hoping to claim their second-ever crown against the odds in Lisbon.
A superb semi-final victory over Lyon followed the quarter-final comeback against Real Madrid, and have this Arsenal team looking to become just the second English side to win the women's competition. The Gunners themselves won in 2007 and, bar a single final appearance for Chelsea in 2021, this is the first time since that an English team has even reached the final.
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For Katie McCabe, the task at hand is also to add her name to an illustrious list of Irish players who have won the men's or women's European Cup.
Ahead of Saturday's massive game, we've compiled a full list of every single Republic of Ireland international to have won the Champions League, right back to its origins as the European Cup.
The criteria is somewhat muddled but we're going with players who either played in the Champions League final or were officially awarded a medal by UEFA.
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The full list of every Ireland player to win the Champions League
1967: Charlie Gallagher (Celtic)
The first Irish player to win the European Cup was Charlie Gallagher with Celtic in 1967, themselves the first British team ever to win the competition.
Gallagher, Glasgow-born to Donegal parents, played two senior internationals for Ireland, the same year that Celtic won their historic European Cup in Lisbon. Famously, the squad that year - the 'Lisbon Lions' - were all born within a 30km radius of Glasgow.
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Though Gallagher played no part in the final victory over Inter, Celtic have always insisted that he was a core member of that iconic team. On the occasion of his death at the age of 80 in 2020, the club website read:
Charlie was one of those who narrowly missed out on a place in the starting XI for the final in Lisbon. Yet, he celebrated that triumph with his team-mates and has always been rightly acknowledged as part of the Lisbon Lions squad.
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1968: Shay Brennan and Tony Dunne (Manchester United)
One year after Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup, Manchester United became the first English team ever to win the tournament. In their team for the 4-1 final victory over Benfica were two Republic of Ireland internationals in Shay Brennan and Tony Dunne.
Manchester-born Brennan had made his debut for the club ten years prior, in the first game after the Munich Air Disaster. Fittingly, he played alongside Munich survivors Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes as United claimed a historic victory at Wembley. Brennan was capped 19 times for Ireland.
Dubliner Tony Dunne was alongside Brennan in the United defence that famous night, and won 33 caps for his country across a 13-year international career.
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Perhaps most famously of all, Northern Ireland's George Best was the scorer of the decisive second United goal on the night, putting them back in front on the night and sending them en route to victory. Best would win the Ballon d'Or that year, becoming the only player from the island of Ireland to achieve such a feat.
George Best v Benfica, May 1968
The most important goal in @ManUtd history. The goal that won the European Cup.
Outrageous control. Nutmegs the defender. Rounds the goalkeeper. 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/uPB0upEWqm
— Wayne Barton (@WayneSBarton) April 5, 2025
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1977, 1978: Steve Heighway (Liverpool)
Steve Heighway remains the only Irish player to win multiple European Cup titles, having played in both the 1977 and 1978 final victories for Liverpool.
The Dub was a pillar of Bob Paisley's team, and started when the club won the final for the first time in '77, defeating Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome. The following year, he was introduced off the bench as they succesfully defended their crown with victory over Club Brugge at Wembley.
Heighway had left the club for the Minnesota Kicks by the time the 1981 final rolled around, though he did play in the earlier rounds of the competition as Liverpool claimed a third European Cup in just five seasons.
To this day, Heighway is part of a club of one when it comes to Irishmen in Europe, a massive achievement for the Liverpool icon.
1984: Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan and Michael Robinson (Liverpool)
The 1984 decider between Liverpool and Roma in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome also holds a special record as the only men's Champions League final in which three Ireland internationals played.
Mark Lawrenson started in the heart of defence, while Ronnie Whelan was the driving creative force down the left flank. When the game went to extra-time, Leicester-born Irish international Michael Robinson was introduced off the bench, replacing Kenny Dalglish.
The game was decided on penalties, though none of the Irish trio took a spot kick, which Liverpool won 4-2.
A side-note: Michael Robinson's Wikipedia page ranks among the best out there. His late career move to Spain led to him becoming fluent in Spanish, and the European Cup winner went on to voice characters in the Spanish language dub of Shrek. The more you know.
1999: Denis Irwin and Roy Keane (Manchester United)
It would be 15 years until the next Irish win in the European Cup, by which stage it had been renamed to the "Champions League."
Manchester United's 1999 triumph ranks among the most memorable in the competition's history, secured as part of a historic treble with the Premier League and FA Cup, making them the first English team to do so.
Their inspirational captain throughout that campaign was Cork's Roy Keane. Enjoying his best season with the club and having dragged them through the semi-final second leg against Juventus, Keane was infamously suspended for the dramatic final victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona, something which has haunted him to this day. Nonetheless, he picked up his medal.
His fellow Corkonian Denis Irwin was a rock for Alex Ferguson in the 1990s, playing down either the left or right side of defence. He started at left-back for the '99 final, and was on the field when Sheringham and Solskjaer snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
2005: Steve Finnan (Liverpool)
Steve Finnan Liverpool
25 May 2005; Steve Finnan, Liverpool. UEFA Champions League Final, Liverpool v AC Milan, Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey. Picture credit; David Maher / SPORTSFILE
Steve Finnan holds the ignomanious claim to being the player subsituted at half-time ahead of perhaps the most famous second half in football history.
The Limerick man was the first-choice right back for Rafa Benitez in his first season in charge at Anfield, as Liverpool plotted an unexpected course to the Champions League.
With Liverpool 3-0 down to AC Milan in the decider in Istanbul, the team physio recommended to Rafa Benitez that he substitute Finnan rather than Djimi Traoré. Finnan was replaced by Didi Hamann, who was one of the standout players as Liverpool pulled off one of the all-time great footballing comebacks.
Finnan picked up a well-deserved winners' medal at full-time, but Liverpool-born Ireland international Darren Potter did not, despite playing three games earlier in the competition.
2007: Emma Byrne, Ciara Grant and Yvonne Tracy (Arsenal)
Emma Byrne Ciara Grant Yvonne Tracy
29 April 2007; Arsenal players, from left, Ciara Grant, Emma Byrne, and Yvonne Tracy, celebrate after the match. 2006/07 UEFA Women's Cup Final 2nd Leg, Arsenal v Umeå IK, Boreham Wood Football Club, Hertfordshire, UK. Picture credit: Brian Lawless / SPORTSFILE
In 2007, Arsenal made history by claiming the club's first European Cup trophy and becoming the first English team ever to win the women's competition.
Emma Byrne started in goal for both legs of two-legged final of the Champions League (then known as the UEFA Women's Cup) against Swedish side Umea. Brazilian legend Marta was among the Umea stars at the time, but Byrne and Ireland defender Ciara Grant kept the Swedish side scoreless as Alex Scott's first-leg goal secured a famous triumph for the Gunners.
It was a similarly historic occasion for Irish football, as Yvonne Tracy also picked up a medal, having been an unused substitute in both legs, matching the achievement of Liverpool in the men's final of 1984.
It remains the only time an English side has ever won the UEFA Women's Champions League.
No doubt this trio will be the biggest inspiration for Katie McCabe on Saturday afternoon.
2008: John O'Shea (Manchester United)
John O'Shea Champions League
17 May 2023; Ireland senior international coach and Just Eat ambassador John O'Shea is pictured on Dublin's Camden Row, in front of a mural celebrating his 2008 Champions League win. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
John O'Shea may not have played in the 2008 Champions League final, but nobody could doubt the immense presence the Waterford man had in Alex Ferguson's Manchester United squad of the 2000s.
The peak defensive utility player, O'Shea was a superb centre-back for Ireland but could deputise down the flanks if needed, and regularly did so for Ferguson as he chased an elusive second Champions League crown.
That would eventually arrive in 2008 with victory over Chelsea in a rain-sodden Moscow final, for which O'Shea was an unused substitute. The 118-times capped Ireland international could be seen proudly holding the trophy aloft and donning his medal on the Luzhniki Stadium pitch post-match.
O'Shea started the following year's final, having scored the winner in the semi-final first leg against Arsenal. That final and the 2011 decider both ended in defeat to Barcelona. O'Shea did not feature in the 2011 final, though he captained the side in the second leg of their semi-final against Schalke.
2019: Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool)
Liverpool Champions League 2019
Caoimhín Kelleher and the Liverpool team celebrate their Champions League victory in 2019 (Photo: Shutterstock)
Caoimhín Kelleher is the most recent player from the Republic of Ireland to win a Champions League medal, though his place in the record books is somewhat contentious when compared with some of the players we've excluded from this list earlier on.
Kelleher was named on the bench for the 2019 final against Spurs in Madrid, but he was not even second choice at Liverpool, with Adrian ready to come in should Alisson be injured.
The Corkonian was awarded a medal for his place in the matchday squad, without having hitherto played a single minute of senior football for Liverpool. Looking at the current men's squad, however, Kelleher certainly seems best placed to add another medal.
Honourable mentions
Kevin Sheedy and Ronnie Whelan were both part of the Liverpool squad in the 1980-81 season, but neither played a single moment of their march to the European Cup.
Several Northern Irish players have won the competition over the years, including George Best (1968), Martin O'Neill (1979 and 1980), and Jonny Evans (2008).
Fingers crossed Katie McCabe can become the 16th Irish player to win the Champions League this weekend. She is expected to start Saturday's final against Barcelona in Lisbon, which kicks off at 5pm Irish time and is live on TNT Sports 1.
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