It was a proud day for Dara O’Shea and Ipswich’s Irish contingent, as they secured promotion back to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over QPR at Portman Road.

The Tractor Boys knew they only needed to better the results of Middlesbrough and Millwall to confirm their return to the top flight, and they were 2-0 up within just nine minutes.

Goals from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene-Bidace had the home crowd in raptures early on, and there was a party atmosphere for the remainder.

The party would fully kick off with five minutes to play when Ipswich scored their third.

After some industrious work from Jack Taylor, his Ireland teammate Kasey McAteer was quickest to react and his goal kick-started the electric celebrations that were to follow.

At the full-time whistle, fans poured onto the Portman Road pitch, as Ipswich’s return to the Premier League was confirmed after just a year away.

Fermanagh native Kieran McKenna was the coaching mastermind behind this promotion, as he was in 2024, but this time the side were captained by Ireland’s Dara O’Shea.

O’Shea has been immense all season in the blue of Ipswich, and admitted the squad were looking forward to the celebrations as he spoke to Sky Sports at full-time.

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Dara O’Shea on Ipswich’s promotion

Captain Dara O’Shea said that a wild night could be on the cards for Ipswich as they celebrate promotion from the Premier League.

“I think it’s a free-for-all tonight!” O’Shea said when he was asked if he would be charged with organising tonight’s celebrations.

However, the Dubliner then admitted that the more important celebrations would be those players would enjoy with their families.

It’s important we spend time with our families as well.

Our families give up so much for us. We spend a lot of time away from home, so as much as it’s for us and our fans, it’s for our families, too.

Captaining a side to the Premier League is no mean feat, and will surely rank among the greatest moments of Dara O’Shea’s career.

“It means everything,” O’Shea said.

“It’s the best…there’s no better place to do it than at Portman Road. This place is unbelievable, I love it, I love the fans, I love walking out and seeing the blue.

“The support that they’ve shown us…we had a tough season last season, there wasn’t a lot to cheer about. But they were always there.”

O’Shea also said that the Ipswich squad were proud to have proven some doubters wrong.

“This is what we set out to do at the start of the season,” O’Shea said.

There was a lot of talk about us, I don’t think anybody wanted us to do it. Everybody had something to say.

We had to walk the walk, and we did. We got the job done, and that’s the main thing.

It’s never easy. You look at teams coming out of the Premier League, and you think they’re going to go back up.

Nothing’s given in this league…you have to fight for everything. By god, did we fight this season.

Dara O’Shea will be a Premier League player next season, along with his Ireland teammates at Ipswich.

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