 Both had made their Irish international debut at Republic of Ireland national under-17 football team level against Northern Ireland in the first ever fixture between the two nations at Seaview in a 6–1 friendly win in January 1985.Dolan signed YTS forms with Arsenal when he turned sixteen and made numerous appearances for both the youth and reserve team.In 1988, he was loaned out to Walsall to gain experience and soon made the move permanent.