It wasn't until the year 1993 that the Irish Cricket Union (ICU) was granted membership in the International Cricket Council (ICC). Ireland played their first-ever One-Day International in 2006 against England and went on to feature in their maiden World Cup a year later. The ICU was then replaced by Cricket Ireland in 2009 and also announced contracts for its professional cricketers.

Ireland were labelled as the leading Associate nation among others due to their success in the Intercontinental Cup and World Cup. The Irish team is known to produce upsets as they did in the 2007 World Cup, beating Pakistan and Bangladesh, and then shocking England in the 2011 World Cup and getting the better of the Windies team in the 2015 World Cup.

Ireland's wait for a Test status ended in 2017 when ICC named them and Afghanistan as the new entrants. They played their first Test in 2018, in their own backyard, against Pakistan. They were beaten quite easily but the Irish side showed great character.