Soccer
Irish Development Squad for Mayo International Cup
By Pat Quigley, Stephen Finn
19, Aug 2015 - 22:14

Irish Development Squad announced for Mayo International Cup

THE Republic of Ireland U16 Development Squad has been announced for the Mayo International Cup in Castlebar this weekend.

U16s Head Coach Tom O'Connor will lead the Irish squad into the tournament which includes fixtures against Northern Ireland, Millwall, Chesterfield and the FAI Castlebar squad.

"We are looking forward to playing a variety of different styles and it'll help consolidate the team before the start of the new season," said O'Connor.

"We're looking forward to playing Northern Ireland who will be similar to ourselves. They're training three days a week and we expect them to be very well organised.

"Having said that, the Northern Ireland fixture will just be a game in the series of games. The other teams will all represent their own challenge for the players."

Although the Mayo International Cup is a development opportunity for the Irish side, O'Connor fills there are many elements required of the players this week which they can learn from as they progress on the international ladder.

"This tournament replicates something similar to what they'll experience at international level. They will be involved in the different things that are elements of being in an international squad, such as travelling, staying in hotels, eating the right things, resting, attending team meetings and all the other experiences that goes with representing your country," he added.

"We feel that the four games they'll play over the three days will be beneficial for them. It's all about the players at this level.

"A number of the players involved have progressed from the Emerging Talent Programme to the SSE Airtricity U17 National League so I would imagine that there will be clubs watching these players this week that will hope to give them the opportunity to step up to that level in the future."

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND DEVELOPMENT SQUAD:

Patryk Osinski (Mallow)

Kevin Healy (Belvedere FC)

Cian Lee (Belvedere FC)

Jordan Doherty (Home Farm)

Gavin Kilkenny (St Kevin's Boys)

Luke Nolan (St Patrick's Athletic)

Charlie Barry (St Francis)

Thomas Caffrey (St Francis)

Cian Hughes (St Francis)

Aaron Bolger (St Joseph's Boys)

Tom Murphy (St Joseph's Boys)

Dominic Peppard (St Joseph's Boys)

Aaron Connolly (Mervue Utd)

Mark Kelly (St Patrick's Athletic)

Yassine En-Neyah (Bohemians)

Cian Murphy (Cork City)

Darryl Walsh (Waterford United)

Lee O'Connor (Villa FC, Waterford)

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES

Venue: Milebush Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

Friday, 21 August 2015

Millwall FC v FAI Castlebar (4.00pm)

Chesterfield FC v Republic of Ireland (5.30pm)

FAI Castlebar v Northern Ireland (7.15pm)

Saturday, 22 August 2015

Northern Ireland v Millwall FC (10.00am)

Republic of Ireland v FAI Castlebar (11.30am)

Northern Ireland v Chesterfield FC (1.30pm)

Millwall FC v Republic of Ireland (3.00pm)

Chesterfield FC v FAI Castlebar (4.30pm)

Sunday, 23 August 2015

Millwall v Chesterfield FC (12.00pm)

Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland (12.30pm)