From The Guardian:
"There was never a temptation to pack in after United.
"It was an option to say I can't improve on this and retire. But I feel capable of playing for another year or two and am looking forward to this season.
"The simple answer is that I want to keep playing and this is a great challenge after what I achieved with United. There will be plenty of years when I can't play and, as long as I feel fit enough, I'll carry on."
His desire to play on is not the only item of unfinished business: by signing for Wolves he has joined the club he supported as a boy.
"Most of my friends in Cork followed United or Liverpool but a couple of us supported Wolves," says Irwin, who had not set foot inside Molineux until he arrived to sign his one-year contract.
"There's a lot of competition for the three places - Derby County and Leicester City will present a challenge and Ipswich Town have some good players - so it will be a tough division to get out of. But I've seen the players here and the depth of the squad and I'm sure they're more than capable of doing it."