MLS Multiplex
Fansided

MLS: Top 5 Irish players in league history

By Matt Coles

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 13: Robbie Keane of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA EURO 2016 Group E match between Republic of Ireland and Sweden at Stade de France on June 13, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 13: Robbie Keane of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA EURO 2016 Group E match between Republic of Ireland and Sweden at Stade de France on June 13, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
2 Sep 1998: Paul Keegan #18 of the New England Revolution looking at the ball while running down the sideline during the MLS game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Revolution defeated the MetroStars 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Ezra O. Shaw /Allsport
2 Sep 1998: Paul Keegan #18 of the New England Revolution looking at the ball while running down the sideline during the MLS game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Revolution defeated the MetroStars 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Ezra O. Shaw /Allsport /

3. Paul Keegan

The oldest player to grace our list is one of the pair that played in the debut season of Major League Soccer back in 1996, Paul Keegan.

More from MLS Multiplex

After first playing for St. Patrick’s Athletic in his home nation, Keegan made the move Stateside, accepting a soccer scholarship offer from Boston College, where he went on to score 33 goals in 85 games for the Boston College Eagles.

The Irishman was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 MLS College Draft by the New England Revolution and he immediately became a starter. He scored seven times and assisted ten other goals in 84 regular-season appearances for the Revolution, helping the club into the MLS Cup Playoffs in both 1997 and 2000.

Following his time in Major League Soccer, Keegan returned to his native Ireland, with spells at Bray Wanderers, where he won the League of Ireland Division 1 title, and Bohemians, where the side lifted the League of Ireland trophy in 2003. He then spent time in Scotland prior to his retirement from the game in 2011. Keegan, however, will be forever remembered by Revolution fans as the first Irishman to ‘make it’ in the league, carving a path for others to follow.

Home/All-Time Lists