Brian Barry Murphy of Cork City is one of five home based players in the Republic of Ireland squad for next week's triangular Under-21 tournament, featuring teams from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A son of the celebrated Cork hurler and footballer, Jimmy Barry Murphy, he was prominent in Cork City's early season programme, but was hit by injuries. His promotion is now interpreted as an important development in the career of a talented player who has attracted the interest of a number of English clubs.
Drogheda United and Cobh Ramblers, two clubs which rarely provide players for national squads, will be represented by Alan Murphy and Willie Byrne respectively, while St Patrick's Athletic, the new Premier Division champions, contribute Thomas Morgan and Colin Hawkins.
Morgan and Hawkins were members of the team which finished third in the world Under-20 championship in Malaysia last summer, and predictably, Ian Evans, the Under-21 manager, has drawn heavily from that squad.
Derek O'Connor, Thomas Cummins and David Worrell, all of whom filled key roles in Malaysia, will again challenge for places in a defence which will be reinforced for the game against Scotland at Ballybofey on Monday night by senior internationals Ian Harte and Alan Maybury.
David Connolly of Feyenoord will also play against the Scots, but he and Harte will join the senior squad the following day, thus missing the second Under-21 game against Northern Ireland, at Milebush, Castlebar, on Friday of next week.
Damien Duff and Robbie Keane have been confirmed as definite starters for the second leg of Ireland's European Under-18 tie against Greece at Tolka Park on Thursday. Neither played in the original game, which the Irish won 1-0 in Greece in the last week in March.
Apart from Duff, Brian Kerr, the Ireland manager, has called up three other players with Premiership experience: Richard Dunne (Everton), Stephen McPhail (Leeds Utd) and Danny Boxall (Crystal Palace). The highly rated Liverpool midfielder Ritchie Partridge is also included.
Republic Of Ireland (Under-21 squad): D O'Connor (Huddersfield Town), D Delaney (Everton), D Worrell (Blackburn), B Ryan (Milwall), T Cummins (Middlesbrough), T Morgan (St Patrick's Ath), A Mahon (Tranmere), N Fenn (Tottenham), C Hawkins (St Patrick's Ath), J Burns (Nottingham Forest), D Boxall (Crystal Palace), S Grant (Stockport Co), S Baker (Middlesbrough), J Sheerin (Chelsea), N Inman (Peterboro), A Murphy (Drogheda Utd), B Barry Murphy (Cork City), W Byrne (Cobh Ramblers), D Connolly (Feyenoord), I Harte (Leeds Utd), A Maybury (Leeds Utd), K Kilbane (West Brom).
