REPUBLIC OF IRELAND UNDER-17 SQUAD (2008 UEFA Finals):
Ger Hanley (Salthill Devon)
Born: 4th April 1991. U17 caps: 8.
Goalkeeper. Played every minute of the six UEFA qualifiers and has acquitted himself admirably throughout, especially in the critical match against Portugal when he produced some spectacular saves.
Ger hails from Galway, where he plays for Salthill Devon.
Gavin Carlin (West Bromwich Albion)
Born: 26th May 1991. U17 caps: 1.
Goalkeeper. Donegal-born Gavin is a tall shot-stopper who played in his home county as well as with Crumlin in Dublin before moving to West Brom where he is learning from Baggies’ Number One, Dean Kiely. Earned one cap so far for Ireland this season - in the 6-1 win over Finland in February.
Pauric Ormsby (Crumlin United)
Born: 8th January 1991. U17 caps: 9.
Defender. Strong in the tackle, former St. Kevin’s Boys player Pauric is usually deployed in the full-back position but is also adept in a midfield role.
Richie Towell (Celtic)
Born: 17th July 1991. U17 caps: 3.
Defender/midfielder. A dependable player, Richie was a consistent performer in the Irish jersey for the past two years and has excelled at Celtic since joining the Scottish club last July.
Gavin Gunning (Blackburn Rovers)
Born: 26th January 1991. U17 caps: 6.
Defender. Gavin is a stylish defender with tremendous aerial ability, as evidenced by his headed goals against Ukraine, Greece and Portugal during the UEFA qualifying series. He has signed his first professional contract at Blackburn Rovers.
Johnny Dunleavy (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Born: 3rd July 1991. U17 caps: 11.
Defender. Johnny is the only member of the squad to have started all eleven matches this season for Ireland. He is a reliable centre-back who leads by example.
Mark Connolly (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Born: 16th December 1991. U17 caps: 9.
Defender. Grabbed his chance to shine in the preliminary qualifiers and kept his place in the heart of the Irish defence. The Monaghan lad is also a defensive colleague of fellow squad member Johnny Dunleavy at Wolves.
Kallum Keane (Derby County)
Born: 23rd November 1991. U17 caps: 6.
Defender. Nottingham-born Kallum declared for Ireland through his Belmullet grandparents. He is a no-nonsense centre-half and a towering presence at the back.
Shaun Timmins (Birmingham City)
Born: 13th March 1991. U17 caps: 3.
Defender. Birmingham City player Shaun, whose parents are from Dublin, made his Irish debut against Finland in February and featured in the UEFA Elite qualifiers a month later. He can fill in at left-full as well as in central-defence.
Conor Clifford (Chelsea)
Born: 1st October 1991. U17 caps: 9.
Midfielder. Conor is a gifted midfielder with an array of passing abilities within his armoury. He is the reigning FAI/eircom Under-16 player of the year following his displays in the Green jersey last season and is the current captain of the National team.
Gearoid Morrissey (Ringmahon Rangers)
Born: 17th November 1991. U17 caps: 5 (+ 1 from 2006/7 season).
Midfielder. Cork native Gearoid missed the first phase qualifiers through injury but returned to full fitness to in time for the Elite phase. A powerful and intelligent player, he has agreed to join Blackburn Rovers.
Conor Hourihane (Sunderland)
Born: Born: 2nd February 1991. U17 caps: 11.
Midfielder. Conor is another diminutive midfield player in the squad who likes to get forward and link the play with the attackers. Sunderland manager Roy Keane has already given the Cork lad a taste of first-team football in a friendly.
Robert Brady (Manchester United)
Born: 14th January 1992. U17 caps: 5.
Midfielder/striker. Robert is the only player in the Irish squad eligible to play at Under-17 level again last season. His pace and trickery on the left wing, or in attack, gives another dimension to the Irish side and he was a key influence in the vital win over Portugal.
Greg Cunningham (Manchester City)
Born: 31st January 1991. U17 caps: 10.
Winger/striker. Galway-native Greg is a talented winger with blistering pace and an eye for goal. He brought the Terryland Park crowd to their feet by scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Germany.
He transferred from local club Mervue United to Manchester City last July.
Aaron Doran (Blackburn Rovers)
Born: 13th May 1991. U17 caps: 6.
Winger/striker. Aaron had a major impact of Ireland’s progression from the first phase group, scoring against Denmark, and he was equally involved in getting the Irish past the final Elite stage hurdle.
He is a former Crumlin United player now at Ewood Park alongside another squad member, Gavin Gunning.
John Sullivan (Crumlin United)
Born: 6th January 1991. U17 caps: 5.
Midfielder. Dubliner John gradually moved into contention for a squad place this season following some strong showings for his club, Crumlin United, and also in trials. He grabbed his first International goal in the 6-1 drubbing of Finland in February and found the net again against Portugal in the final UEFA Elite qualifier.
Paul Murphy (Ipswich Town)
Born: 19th March 1991. U17 caps: 10.
Striker. Wexford lad Paul is a pivotal player to the Irish team with his vision, pace and goal-scoring prowess. Began his career at Wexford Albion and also played for Dublin clubs Home Farm and Crumlin United.
Darragh Satelle (Hull City)
Born: 22nd February 1991. U17 caps: 7.
Striker. Darragh scored twice in three matches at the pre-season Lithuania tournament but a broken bone in his foot ruled him out of the UEFA first phase qualifiers. With fitness regained, he started in both friendly matches against Finland and was on the score-sheet in the second fixture.
He was recently snapped up by English Championship club Hull City.
