Irving began his footballing career in the North-East of England, playing for a number of non-League clubs. In 1911 he had an unsuccessful trial with Newcastle United before finally being given his break inthe Football League by Bristol City, for whom he signed in November 1913, After the First World War, Irving had spells back in the North-East of England playing with Blyth Spartans and again with his first club Shildon Athletic before signing for Dundee in 1920.
Dundee
Irving made debuted for Dundee on the first day of the 1920–21 season in a 2–2 draw away at Falkirk on 16 August. At Dundee he was a Scottish Cup runner-up in with Dave Halliday and David McLean in 1925 when Celtic defeated Dundee 2–1. Within two years won the first of his 18 caps for his native Ireland, appropriately against Scotland in Belfast when the visitors won 1–0. Irving had a spell on loan with Partick in 1924 and guested for New York Centrals in the summer of 1925. In total made 183 appearances for Dundee netting 6 goals.
Cardiff City
In June 1926 Irving signed for Cardiff City in an exchange deal that took Joe Cassidy the other way. He made his Bluebirds' debut in a 1–1 draw at Leeds United early in the season. He remained a regular in the side throughout the campaign, initially at right-half, but later shifting to inside-right, where he played in the 1927 FA Cup Final victory over Arsenal, Cardiff taking the trophy outside England for the first time. He continued as a regular in the Irish half-back line throughout his time at Ninian Park, filling in as inside-left for a match against Scotland in 1927 and also captaining the side.
Chelsea
In March 1928 Irving joined Chelsea, serving as "a sharp-tackling fetch-and-carry" wing-half in their 1929–30 promotion campaign. While with Chelsea, Irving toured South America in 1929. The team were surprised by the unsporting behaviour of their opponents, and antics of the crowd who pelted them with oranges. Irving's answer was to catch the food, peel it and eat it.
In May 1932 he returned to Bristol, this time signing for Rovers, retiring from playing a year later.
International
Irving won a total of eighteen international caps for Ireland at right-half and left-half, ten of them while with Dundee. He played in the win over England in 1923. He made his final international appearance at the age of 38 while at Chelsea, in a 4–2 defeat against Wales.
Management career and after
With his playing days behind him, Irving settled in Dundee where he ran a billiards hall. In 1938 he was involved in a takeover of Dundee United, taking control of the team as joint-manager/director with Jimmy Brownlie for the 1938–39 season. He stepped down from the manager's role after a year, but remained with the club as a director.
