On the very day the 32-year-old made official his transatlantic switch to Major League Soccer with the New York Red Bulls, Henry confirmed he was bringing the curtain down on his international career.

Keen to avoid the same dilemma which accompanied David Beckham's move Stateside, Henry has wisely elected to shelve his air miles card and will not be attempting to split his time on either side of the Atlantic in a bid to prolong a glittering yet at times controversial international career.

For football fans in Ireland, and indeed for many others around the world, Henry's legacy will be forever tainted by the handball which led to France's winner in a World Cup play-off against the Republic last year, but for devotees of Les Tricolores, Henry will assuredly be reflected on with fondness.

A key member of the squad that sealed back-to-back World Cup and European Championship crowns in 1998 and 2000, Henry would also go on to become the country's leading goalscorer with 51 strikes during 13 eventful years.

Henry's first steps on the road to international recognition came in June 1997, when his eye-catching form under the guidance of Arsene Wenger at Monaco earned him a call-up to the France Under-20 side, for whom he contested that year's World Youth Championships.

The pacy forward's burgeoning talent soon caught the attention of France head coach Aime Jacquet, who handed the 20-year-old the first of his 123 international caps in a 2-1 win against South Africa in October 1997.

Although still to prove himself fully at the highest level, Jacquet elected to include Henry in his squad for the 1998 World Cup held on home soil. Jacquet's faith in the youngster was justified, with Henry ending the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals.

Although he missed out on playing in the final and watched from the sidelines as France beat Brazil 3-0, his mark had been made and he quickly became a fixture in the French set-up that would endure for more than a decade.

Henry was again a star performer at Euro 2000, hitting three goals and earning himself the man-of-the-match accolade in Les Bleus' victory over Italy in the final.

The career-defining highs which straddled the new millennium were always likely to be followed by a slump, and for France the fall from grace was spectacular, with the reigning champions eliminated in the group stage at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

A straight red card against Uruguay was the personal low for Henry as he ended the tournament goalless, while Euro 2004 offered little in the way of succour as France fell to eventual champions Greece in the quarter-finals.

The 2006 World Cup brought three more goals for Henry but not the title as Italy gained revenge for their Euro 2000 defeat by winning the final on penalties.

Better times followed when Henry hit his 42nd international goal against Lithuania in 2007 to eclipse the previous best mark set by Michel Platini, but the pattern of highs and lows was destined to continue.

A dismal exit in the group stage of Euro 2008 was another blot on Henry's record, but worse was to come two years later when Henry's double handball in the the build-up to William Gallas' winner in the infamous play-off encounter with the Republic caused widespread uproar and condemnation.

But for Henry and the French, the pain was only just beginning.

Arriving in South Africa as a member of Les Bleus' supporting cast having been dropped to the bench by France coach Raymond Domenech, Henry was a frustrated observer as his country once again imploded at a major tournament, exiting in the group stage after a campaign blighted by infighting and dissent.

In a delicious twist, Henry's final international outing would come against the same team he had faced on his debut 13 years earlier, South Africa, who beat Domenech's side 2-1 in the final group game to end France's World Cup campaign.

It was an inglorious end to the career of a man who will nevertheless go down as one of his country's all-time greats, and his retirement is sure to leave a void in the France set-up that will not be easily filled.