He was one of many talented white Zimbabweans to leave the team due to the situation of the ZCU and the country, to pursue careers in English domestic cricket, where he represented Gloucestershire and Middlesex before joining Leicestershire for the 2013 season, retiring from professional cricket at the end of the 2014 season.
Ireland made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Bulawayo on 24 August 2005 where he took the wickets of both Stephen Fleming and Chris Cairns.
A regular member of the side in 2006, he was selected in the 2007 Cricket World Cup squad and returned to the Caribbean, taking a wicket in each of his games.
Retiring from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup,[3][4] he signed a two-year deal with Gloucestershire under the Kolpak agreement.
He recently returned briefly to Zimbabwe to play in the Twenty/20 tournament for the Southern Rocks, taking 3 wickets in his only game.