After weeks of speculation and a day in which the final announcement gradually became little more than a formality, Mick McCarthy met the FAI's leading officials in south Dublin last night to rubber-stamp the deal that ends his reign as manager of the Irish football team.

His departure, which all parties insisted was at his own behest, ends a period of sustained speculation that followed the Irish team's poor performances in European Championship qualifiers against Russia and Switzerland and would appear to open the door for Roy Keane's return from international retirement.

The 43-year-old steps down after nearly seven years with immediate effect as does his assistant, Ian Evans, and under-21 manager Don Givens will probably take charge of the travelling party for the friendly game in Greece on the 20th of this month. As of yesterday, however, Givens hadn't been informed by the FAI of his added responsibilities.

Under the terms of the deal reached between the two parties the FAI will make a payment to McCarthy although the amount involved is believed to be only a fraction, some estimates put it at round €50,000, of what would have been involved had McCarthy been dismissed and the rest of his contract paid up.

His departure still represents a remarkable turnaround, both for McCarthy, who had insisted as recently as last week that he intended to stay put, and for the association whose general secretary, Brendan Menton, had suggested two days before the Switzerland game that he still envisaged an attempt being made to keep the manager in place for a further two years after the' next European Championships.

Several of those who have talked to McCarthy in recent days, however, said that they had sensed a change of heart on his part and by the start of this week McCarthy's adviser Liam Gaskin was having talks with the association aimed at sorting out the details of his friend's exit.

Much of the resulting deal was hammered out well before McCarthy was scheduled to sit down with the association's officers last night and the departing manager was said to be angered by the extent to which the proceedings had leaked into the public arena.

But one senior official connected with the association said yesterday that the talks had been friendly and that the parting was essentially an amicable one.

There was, from the association's point of view, a certain amount of urgency in completing the deal by last night as clubs with Irish players need to be notified this week of their inclusion for the Greek game if their release is to be secured for the trip to Athens.

The association has yet to consider the question of a long-term replacement for McCarthy and one official yesterday wouldn't even rule out the possibility that Givens might still be in charge when the Republic play Scotland in a friendly on February 12th.

"As long as somebody is in there by the end of March really, that's the main thing," he said.

Former Leeds United manager Dave O'Leary last night ruled himself out of the running for the job, although it is thought that his financial expectations combined with the association's preference for a coach with experience of European football may have kept him out of the picture anyway.

John Toshack was again being mentioned as a possible successor yesterday but for the moment the intention around Merrion Square seems to be to allow some time to pass in order to gauge the level of interest and the quality of those who put their names forward.

Whoever eventually takes over, he is expected to be a midfielder better off for the trip at the end of March to Georgia and Albania than McCarthy was for the ill- fated games against Russia and Switzerland.

Roy Keane's repeated indications that McCarthy's presence within the Irish team set up was the main barrier to his return has led most observers to believe that he will make himself available for international duty again when he recovers his fitness after his recent hip operation.

Maybe not for the Scotland game, though, as friendlies, it is said, are not for him.