Martin O'Neill today embraced the exuberance of youth to add a bit more appeal to this month's friendly in Turkey, as he named a youthful 40-man squad for the game in Antalya on March 23rd.
Shane Long is the only outfield player over the age of 30, with Kieran O'Hara, Declan Rice, Darragh Lenihan, Derrick Williams, Enda Stevens and Liam Kelly are among the fresh faces added to the squad. Lenihan, a midfielder who joined Blackburn from Belvedere in 2012, hails from Dunboyne, and should he make his international debut against Turkey he will finally end a slightly bizarre streak in Irish sport.
Remarkably, no footballer from Meath has ever played for the Republic of Ireland.
We had high hopes lately for Meathman Gary Rogers, who was around the squad in the lead-up to Euro 2016, but he sadly sat on the bench against Holland in an instantly forgettable 1-1 draw at the Aviva ahead of the Euros.
And thus it falls to Dunboyne's Lenihan to break the streak.
The other counties awaiting international football recognition, by the way, are Offaly, Carlow, Tyrone, and Leitrim.
