It is controlled by the Irish Football Association and began under the name of Ireland Youth when the Home Nations first held a round robin of friendly matches in 1948.

The same year they entered the first International Youth Tournament, now the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship.

As well as the UEFA Under-19 Championships the team also enters the annual Milk Cup (currently as an under-20 side).

Names in bold denote players who have been capped by Northern Ireland in a higher age group.

The following players were named in the squad for the 2025 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification games against  Denmark,  Israel and  Albania on 13, 16 and 19 November 2024 respectively.