Tom Mohan's side came through a tough qualifying campaign which saw them bounce back from 2-0 down to draw with Greece in a decisive encounter thanks to goals from Trevor Clarke and Josh Barrett then followed that up with a 3-1 win over Belarus. Jamie Aherne scored twice with Josh Barrett finding the net once more to seal the victory.
The hosts Poland were next up for Ireland and a 1-0 loss was good enough for the Irish to progress to the finals where unfortunately they faced a seriously tough group facing the Netherlands, Italy and England.
Ireland drew 0-0 with the Dutch - and a late goal-line decision denied Aherne a headed winner - then they were unfortunate to go down 2-0 to the Italians before a 1-0 loss to a late England winning goal ended their adventure in Bulgaria.
The new campaign saw the Irish drawn with Finland, Malta and Sweden in September. The Irish got off to a brilliant start with Jayson Molumby scoring a stunning winner against the Finns in their opening encounter.
A 6-0 win over Malta all but sealed qualification for the Elite Phase with Michael Cregan bagging a hat-trick, Declan Rice scoring twice and Kean Flanagan also finding the night. In the final group game a 1-1 draw was secured against the Swedes with Glen McAuley finding the net.
Ireland will return to Poland for the Elite Phase in March where they will meet the Poles, Serbia and Montenegro lie in wait. The eight group winners and the seven runners-up with the best records against the countries first and third in their section will join hosts Azerbaijan in the finals from 5 to 21 May.
Results
Croatia 4-3 Rep of Ireland, Friendly, Croatia, 24 February 2015
Croatia 2-1 Rep of Ireland, Friendly, Croatia, 26 February 2015
Rep of Ireland 2-2 Greece, UEFA Qualifier, Poland, 21 March 2015
Rep of Ireland 3-1 Belarus, UEFA Qualifier, Poland, 23 March 2015
Poland 1-0 Rep of Ireland, UEFA Qualifier, Poland, 26 March 2015
Rep of Ireland 0-0 Netherlands, UEFA European Finals, Bulgaria, 7 May 2015
Italy 2-0 Rep of Ireland, UEFA European Finals, Bulgaria, 11 May 2015
England 1-0 Rep of Ireland, UEFA European Finals, Bulgaria, 13 May 2015
Hungary 2-0 Rep of Ireland, Friendly, Hungary, 1 September 2015
Hungary 0-0 Rep of Ireland, Friendly, 3 September 2015
Rep of Ireland 1-0 Finland, UEFA Qualifier, Finland, 24 September 2015
Rep of Ireland 6-0 Malta, UEFA Qualifier, Finland, 26 September 2015
Sweden 1-1 Rep of Ireland, UEFA Qualifier, Finland, 29 September 2015
Appearances (most)
8 - Jamie Aherne, Conor Levingston, JJ Lunney, Connor Ronan
Goals (most)
3 - Michael Cregan
2 - Jamie Aherne, Josh Barrett, Trevor Clarke, Declan Rice