Republic of Ireland debut ‘a long time coming’ for Dunne

Jimmy Dunne, the defender for the Republic of Ireland, said that it takes a while for his country to make its debut.

The Dundalk native made his debut with a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria at home in their Nations League B play-off and a 4-2 overall victory as a result of his comeback from the bench.

After initially rejecting the opportunity to declare for Northern Ireland, the 27-year-old was delighted to finally make his international debut in 2018.

He told BBC Sport NI, “I’m not embarrassed to admit that it was one of my life’s most proud moments. My mother and family were there, so I’m incredibly proud.”

“Days like today make me realize that I’m glad there’s no change [in changing my allegiances], and I stayed with it.” I’m 27 now, but I’m hoping to have a successful career and have more opportunities to represent my nation.

I’ve always known I’ve always really wanted to do it, but I sometimes had to put it in my head when I thought about doing it [playing for the Republic of Ireland]. Although it’s a marker, I want to keep going.

The Irish manager Heimir Hallgrimsson gave the Queens Park Rangers defender praise for his debut in the promotion/relegation play-off second leg as well as for the guidance the Icelandic coach gave him during this camp.

The manager had a lot of faith in me and had made wise decisions, Dunne said, so it might have been simple to stick to what he knew.

Prior to the start of the World Cup qualifiers in September, the defender thinks the Republic are heading in the right direction.