Unless you've been holidaying on Mars in recent weeks, you'll know that Ireland is abuzz with the recent appointment of Martin O'Neill and, particularly, Roy Keane as the national side's management team.  This, to me, sounds a particularly fitting time for a teamup with Warrior, considering Keane's playing reputation.

Whilst Umbro has seen its national team portfolio diminish recently, Umbro Ireland is a slightly different beast, so there is no indication, necessarily, that the Republic of Ireland are looking for a new deal with a new manufacturer.  But it would be fun to see how Warrior might handle it, and whether Warrior fantasy kits look better than the real thing.

In this just-for-fun competition I'm looking for Home kits, Away kits and goalkeeper kits - shirts, shorts and socks - and anything else you want to throw in there.  If you want to plaster the/a sponsor on the front, fill your boots, but it's not a requirement.

The closing date will be Saturday 14th December 2013 at 23:59 GMT.  I'll announce winners within a couple of days of the competition closing.

As is standard with DF competitions, selected entries will be featured on the DF Facebook Page and tweeted and designs already uploaded to Football Shirt Culture's Fantasy Kit Designs or the DF galleries are both eligible and welcome so please don't hesitate to include them.

Happy Designing!

Jay29ers

UPDATE - 16/12/2013: Another fabulous competition comes to an end.  Some great entries - even the template clones worked reasonably well - but I have to choose a winner...

So, whilst denishurley's shamrock-heavy effort was certainly striking - and Warrior-esque - I wonder whether the use of federation emblems (projecting an unseen single large shamrock in the crotch area) would go down well with Uefa/Fifa, and the same goes for buttplug's entry, so I'm gonna give the Away kit nod to PORLANDESIGN for their sweeping chest graphic - overlapping onto the sleeves - and great use of the current Liverpool neck design.

For the Home kit, I was very tempted to go with Fenton's "the best of Warrior" entry.  The quality control was sublime and the use of the retro crest would be enormously popular.

But, denishurley's Home kit has to take it.  The reference to the 1990 kit in the watermark - I think - and the slightly subversive use of a neck design from an earlier version (1987?) is nicely measured without being lazy.  But what pipped Fenton was the Warrior logo.  The removal of the superfluous "Warrior" enscription is inspired and brings a certain subtlety in a context of more brash designs from the US manufacturer.  Wonderful all round.

Finally, the GK kits award goes to NiGarCas.  By default, technically, but they are still pretty great.

Well done everybody.  This competition gave us a great idea of the potential there would be if Ireland's kit was ever made by Warrior.

If.

Jay29ers.