With a record of 19 goals in 56 games, Don Givens' stands fourth in the list of international goalscorers, behind Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn and Frank Stapleton.
A natural goalscorer, his performances in a green shirt which have made him a hero to anyone who attended Dalymount Park and Lansdowne Road between 1969 and 1981.
He made his debut against Denmark in Copenhagen in May 1969, and scored his first goal for Ireland one month later in a 2-1 defeat by Hungary at Dalymount Park. Within a year, he was firmly established in the Ireland side having scored four goals in his first seven matches and his record of scoring regularly was something that he continued to do throughout his Ireland career.
Despite Ireland struggling in the early seventies, Givens produced some memorable displays like in 1974, when he scored a hat-trick as Ireland beat the Soviet Union 3-0 at Dalymount Park, or a year later at the same venue when he scored four against Turkey to equal Paddy Moore's record of four goals in one game for Ireland.
In the following game against Poland in Poznan, Givens' brace equalled and then broke Noel Cantwell's Irish goalscoring record of 14 goals and further goals against Bulgaria, Denmark, the USA and Switzerland meant that by the time he waved goodbye to the Irish fans against France in 1981, he had set a record of 19 goals which would stand for nine years until Frank Stapleton broke it in 1990.
In 2000, he was appointed Republic of Ireland Under 21 manager and, although he has failed to guide the side to any major championships, he had overseen the development of numerous future Ireland stars such as John O'Shea before leaving the role almost 10 years later and becoming a scout.
