He was a first-half substitute as Ireland defeated Ghana in the third-place match to win the bronze medal. Those two matches were televised live in Ireland, and the players became well known as their progress was followed by RTÉ's magazine programme "The Soccer Show". Kirby made his only appearance at under-21 level as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat against the Czech Republic in March 1998. According to Kirby's profile on the St Patrick's Athletic website, he "can play anywhere across the midfield and chips in with his fair share of goals." He has been used most often as a right-sided winger, though he said he liked playing in the centre of midfield because on the wing, "sometimes the game will pass you by and you're relying on other people to get you into the game." Ahead of the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship semifinal, manager Brian Kerr was reportedly considering using him in a man-marking role. In 2001, Kirby's Waterford manager Paul Power described him as a quick, skilful player suited to the team's counter-attacking style. Later that year, his Longford teammate Stuart Byrne assessed him as "deceptively quick and tricky and goes past people as if they aren't there at times", mentioning how his ability to "take defenders on and get balls into the box ... has definitely given us an extra outlet", and the "Galway Advertiser" wrote that his "blistering pace is an invaluable asset when his side is on the break." He combined creativity with industry. "The Sun" player ratings of the World Youth Championship semifinal called him "another of the Republic's workhorses yesterday. ... he sped the ball around with accuracy and put in a busy useful 90 minutes". An RTÉ match report in 2008 claimed that "the workrate and creativity of Pat's centre midfield pairing of Alan Kirby and Keith Fahey can't be underestimated". And the "Sligo Champion" preview of a 2011 FAI Cup quarter-final summed him up as "a tireless worker with an eye for a defence splitting pass and an ability to ghost into dangerous attacking positions". Republic of Ireland  Longford Town  St Patrick's Athletic  Sporting Fingal  Sligo Rovers