Donegal trio named in Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad
Three Donegal teenagers have been named in the Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad for their four upcoming friendlies later this month.
Buncrana’s Jamie O’Donnell, Letterkenny’s Charlie McGarvey and Michael McColgan from Muff are part of Keith O’Halloran’s 22-man squad.
All three have previously represented their country at Under-16 level and will be part of the squad that has four games in eight days between September 23-30
O’Donnell, formerly of Cockhill Celtic, joined Sligo Rovers on a long-term contract from Derry City in July, and has already played for the senior team, making his debut the same week he signed in a 2-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
He also came on as the Bit O’Red were knocked out of the FAI Cup by Waterford in the quarter-finals.
His teammate, McGarvey, a Letterkenny native who played for Illistrin and Finn Harps before moving to Sligo, signed a professional contract with the club in June.
Goalkeeper McGarvey has yet to make a senior appearance, but has been on the bench for the first team.
Last month, McColgan made his Derry City debut in their 2-1 FAI Cup win over UCD and also hit the milestone of becoming Derry’s 500th player. He then came on in their 3-3 draw with Shamrock Rovers in the league, making his first League of Ireland Premier Division appearance.
Ireland are set to face England at St. George's Park first on September 23, before they travel to Poland for a further three fixtures against Georgia, Poland, and Czechia.
The team will be led by International Lead Coach Keith O’Halloran, who is assisted by Aidan Price.
Republic of Ireland MU17 Squad
Goalkeepers: Alex Byrne (Shamrock Rovers), Charlie McGarvey (Sligo Rovers)
Defenders: Jack Corbally (Bohemians), Jayden Marshall (Como 1907), Maxim Afonin (Shamrock Rovers), Charlie Nolan (Shamrock Rovers), Joe McKeon (Shelbourne), Christian Kroman (St Patrick's Athletic)
Midfielders: Adrian Rascau (Bohemians), Kai Morrall (Leeds United), Josh O’Dwyer (RB Salzburg), Bobby Zeller (Shamrock Rovers), Cillian Phillips (Shelbourne), Rhys Williams (St Patrick's Athletic), Aydin Aliyev (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
Attackers: Sheikhan Aljabir (Benfica), Michael Mc Colgan (Derry City), Ronan Keating (Galway United), Ben Lyne (Manchester United), Ciaran Daly (Shamrock Rovers), Corey Fay (Shamrock Rovers), Jamie O’Donnell (Sligo Rovers)
Wednesday, September 23 | England v Ireland, St George's Park, Burton, KO 18:30
Friday, September 25 | Georgia v Ireland, Stadium Aktywna Warszawa, KO 15:00
Sunday, September 27 | Poland v Ireland, Dozbud Arena Ząbki, KO 11:00
Wednesday, September 30 | Ireland v Czechia, Sulejówek Municipal Stadium, KO 11:00