Here, he continued to show his potential as an excellent shot stopper, playing in sixteen league matches for the club,[10] and in February 2002, he joined West Ham United for a fee of £75,000.

[12] Initially, Forde had ambitions of "looking to make the first team" at a time when David James was firmly established as England's World Cup number one, however, the signing of Raimond van der Gouw in the summer of 2002 pushed him further down the pecking order.

After spending the season on loan at The Brandywell, Forde moved back to his hometown and signed for League of Ireland First Division side Galway United.

[13] It was at Galway that Forde built a fine reputation in Irish football circles and his form earned him a permanent move back to Derry City for the 2005 season.

During this season and the next, he was ever present for 'City', consistently producing excellent performances and helping them to a second-place finish in the League of Ireland Premier Division on both occasions.

Forde made several appearances for Cardiff at the end of the 2006/07 season after first choice Neil Alexander was dropped due to a contract dispute with the club.

On 31 January he was set to join Scottish Premier League side Dundee United on loan but the move was blocked by the Scottish Football Association because players are not allowed to play in three countries in one season, Forde having played for Luton and in the FAW Premier Cup, but the decision was appealed by Dundee United[16] but was eventually denied by FIFA.

[18] On 5 June 2008, he signed a two-year deal at League One side Millwall,[19] making his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 4–3 defeat to Oldham Athletic.

On 30 August 2008, in his fifth game for the club, Forde saved a dramatic last-minute David Unsworth penalty which saw Millwall pick up their first home win of the campaign as they beat Huddersfield Town 2–1.

Forde stated, "I'm not sure where that came from, but it's wrong," continuing, "That story started a long time ago when I played for Barry Town and seems to have stuck.

"[26] Forde was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the first time on 13 March 2011, after impressing manager Giovanni Trapattoni by keeping 20 clean sheets (out of 46) in Millwall's first season back in the Football League Championship.

In a surprising turn of events, Forde made his return to the Irish squad, against Sweden, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier, on 6 September 2013, at the Aviva Stadium in a 1–2 defeat, having been an injury doubt.

Forde continued as number one under the new management of Martin O'Neill and assistant Roy Keane despite Shay Given returning to the fold starting Ireland's first UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying game against Georgia.

He made an important save from Mario Götze to keep the game at 1–0, which proved crucial as Ireland equalized late on thanks to John O'Shea to earn a point in Gelsenkirchen.

After the hour, manager Martin O'Neill told Forde to prepare to play, prompting Westwood, the other goalkeeper on the bench, to remark: "Well, that's not me going now" [to Euro 2016].

This "remarkable response" was by no means a certainty within the Irish squad, even among those whose continued presence was assured; a nephew of Forde's who had previously requested an autograph from another Ireland footballer in the player's lounge following a match was snubbed.