Mick McCarthy's second coming has brought Ireland back inside the top 30 nations in the latest FIFA World Rankings.
McCarthy's men recorded back-to-back victories over Gibraltar and then Geogia at the Aviva Stadium last month as the Boys in Green move to 29th in the world - moving up by five places.
Ireland was always the first choice for rising star Michael Obafemi
Ireland now rub shoulders with Serbia and Venezuela on 1484 points in the rankings, just three points ahead of Northern Ireland lying on 1481 points at 33rd.
Next on the horizon for McCarthy is a June 7th trip to Euro Qualifiers group heavyweights and recent rivals Denmark before they welcome Gibraltar to Dublin three days later.
England continue to climb in the rankings and now sit at 4th place behind leaders Belgium, France and Brazil. Wales are unchanged at 19th while Scotland have slipped four places to 44th after a 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan last month.
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