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"Imported" Players

This is a list of players born outside of Ireland that have played international football for (Northern) Ireland since 1882.

No player born in what is now the Republic of Ireland has been capped at full international level by the Irish FA since a World Cup Qualifier/British Championship match against Wales on 8th March 1950.

To end of 2014.

Canada
George Forbes (1888-1891)
Alan Mannus (2004-date)
Jimmy Nicholl (1976-1986)

England
Kingsley Black (1988-1994)
Alex Bruce (2012-date)
Michael Bryan (2010)
Lee Camp (2011-2012)
Adrian Coote (1999-2000)
Aidan Davison (1996-1997)
Jack Davison (1882-1885)
Tommy Doherty (2003-2005)
Iain Dowie (1990-1999)
Allan Elleman (1889-1890)
Johnny Gorman (2010-2011)
Will Grigg (2012-date)
Colin Hill (1990-1998)
Lee Hodson (2010-date)
Kevin Horlock (1995-2002)
Michael Ingham (2005-2007)
Ian Jenkins (1997-1999)
Rory McArdle (2010-date)
Jon McCarthy (1996-2001)
Billy McKay (2013-date)
Lee McEvilly (2002)
Bernard McNally (1986-1988)
Josh McQuoid (2010-date)
Chris Nicholl (1974-1983)
Ian Nolan (1996-2002)
Oliver Norwood (2010-date)
Martin Paterson (2007-date)
James Quinn (1996-2006)
Ben Reeves (2014-date)
Jack Reynolds (1890-1891)
Lawrie Sanchez (1986-1989)
Peter Scott (1975-1979)
Danny Sonner (1997-2004)
Adam Thompson (2011-date)
Jamie Ward (2011-date)
Peter Watson (1971)
Mark Williams (1999-2005)
Paul Williams (1991)
Danny Wilson (1986-1992)
Kevin Wilson (1987-1995)

(West) Germany
Steve Lomas (1994-2003)
Maik Taylor (1999-2011)

India
William Eames (1885)
Billy McWha (1882-1885)

Jersey (Channel Islands)
Trevor Wood (1995)

Lithuania (formerly part of Russia)
Louis Bookman (1914-1921)

New Zealand
George Moorehead (1923-1929)

Norway
Tony Capaldi (2004-2007)

Scotland
WK Gibson (1894-1902)
Danny Hegan (1969-1973)
Billy Leslie (1887)
George McClure (1907-1909)
Brian McLean (2006)
James McPake (2012)
Bob Milne (1894-1906)
Bob Morrison (1891)
Paul Paton (2014-date)
Jack Ponsonby (1895-1899)
Jap Walker (1911)

South Africa
Pat Kelly (1949)
Dudley Milligan (1939)

USA
Billy Andrews (1908-1913)

Wales
Warren Feeney (Sr) (1976)

Zambia
Jeff Whitley (1997-2005)
Jim Whitley (1998-1999)

An "Imported" Northern Ireland XI
(excluding England)
Trevor Wood (Jersey)
Jimmy Nicholl (Canada), Barney Moorhead (New Zealand), Bob Milne (Scotland), Tony Capaldi (Norway)
Billy Andrews (USA), William Eames (India), Steve Lomas (Germany), Jeff Whitley (Zambia), Louis Bookman (Lithuania)
Dudley Milligan (South Africa)
 An Anglo-Northern Ireland XI
Lee Camp
Ian Nolan, Chris Nicholl, Mark Williams, Kevin Horlock
Kevin Wilson, Jack Reynolds, Lawrie Sanchez, Kingsley Black
Iain Dowie, Martin Paterson
Note: A total of 124 players' birthplaces remain untraced at this time, the majority from the earliest days of the Ireland national team. It is possible that a small number of these will have been born outside of (Northern) Ireland.

Comments

sorryarnold said…
I believe Tony Capaldi was born in Sweden, not Norway.
jcd said…
Hi sorryarnold,
According to all the sources I have, Tony Capaldi was born in Porsgrunn, Norway.
Jonny
Unknown said…
Surely the only reasons a player would nominate to play for NI is (a) no choice or (b) really don't fancy their chances getting to any alternate national side.

I mean realistically NI aren't going to get to a European or World Cup any time soon.

Nice site but.
jcd said…
gadmin,

You're probably right in most cases, but there have been some "imports" who have turned down call-ups for other larger countries in favour of NI (eg Kingsley Black, Jeff Whitley and Brian McLean). There are others who only ever wanted to play for NI anyway (Iain Dowie) or were actually raised here from children (Steve Lomas, Warren Feeney Sr and (the one that got away) Alan Kernaghan). Having said all that, I don't think any goalkeeper would have done better for NI in the last decade than Maik Taylor, even if we were hi last resort for international football.