Daryl Murphy retires from international football

After 33 caps and three goals for the Boys in Green, Daryl Murphy has announced his retirement from the international scene.

Making his international debut in a friendly clash versus Ecuador in the 2007 USA Summer tour, Murphy went on to represent his country, having once played for his hometown club Waterford United, a further 32 times.

Failing to nail down a place in squads, Murphy spent six years in the international wilderness before receiving a recall from current manager Martin O’Neill in 2014.

Having failed to score in his opening 23 games, Murphy found the net for the first time in an Irish shirt scoring a crucial equaliser in the 2-2 draw away to Serbia during the 2018 World Cup Qualifying Campaign.

The now Nottingham Forest striker ensured that his vital leveller wasn’t to be his only goal for the Boys in Green with an equally important brace at home to Moldova which set Martin O’Neill’s men on their way to the World Cup playoffs against Denmark.

His final contribution for the Republic of Ireland was to be in that ill-fated 5-1 home defeat to Denmark in the second leg of the World Cup Playoff as a Christian Eriksen inspired Danish performance was to prove too much for Martin O’Neill’s men.

FAI CEO John Delaney, had plenty of praise for Daryl Murphy after his fellow Waterford man represented his country with great commitment and desire.

 "Daryl can be extremely proud of his international career with Ireland. From a young lad with Southend United in his native Waterford through to playing at EURO 2016, he went a long way and proved that he could compete on the biggest stage," said Delaney.

"It is a huge privilege to represent your country and Daryl always appreciated that. You could see how much it meant to him to play for Ireland - even when he had a six-year gap between caps; he never lost that desire to do his very best.

"It should not be forgotten that he also excelled in the League of Ireland with Waterford United before earning a move to Sunderland. That period helped to shape his senior career and I know that he is very proud of his roots.

"We would like to pay tribute to Daryl at the Aviva Stadium for his contribution to Irish football, at a time that is appropriate for him. Daryl and his family are welcome back to the Aviva Stadium at any time."

Also lauding Murphy’s efforts was current Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill who gave the dynamic target man his second chance at International football after a six-year spell away from the fold.

"Daryl did really well in the couple of years that I worked with him in the international set-up and he was always very professional," said O'Neill.

"He got to play in two very big matches at EURO 2016 and I'm sure the Italian game in Lille will be a big memory for him when he looks back on his days with Ireland.

"I wish him all of the best not just at club level but whatever he chooses to do after that."

After announcing his retirement, Murphy will now focus all his attention on his club career with Nottingham Forest having played for the likes of Waterford United, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town, Celtic and Newcastle United all before making his switch to the City Ground.