Kenny recalls Duffy and Connolly for Ireland's France and Netherlands double-header
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has named his 25-man squad for the upcoming crunch Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and the Netherlands.
Notable call-ups into Kenny's squad include defender Shane Duffy, who comes back into the squad for the first time since September 2022 to bolster the centre-back options.
The 31-year old, who has 55 caps & seven goals for Ireland, joined Norwich City in the summer and has enjoyed a positive early start to the season with the Canaries, playing every minute of their four games.
Striker Aaron Connolly receives his first call-up to the senior squad since October 2021 after his impressive early season form for Hull City, where he has scored three goals, while Luton Town's Chiedozie Ogbene returns to the squad after missing the summer internationals through injury.
Festy Ebosele receives his first senior call-up since June 2022 after impressing for Udinese in the Italian Serie A whilst Southampton's Ryan Manning, Stoke City's Enda Stevens and Preston North End's Will Keane also come back into the squad.
Defender Matt Doherty is suspended for the match against France following his two-game suspension for the red card against Greece in June but will return for the Netherlands fixture and will report for international duty on Sunday.
Troy Parrott and Callum O'Dowda are included on the list of notable exclusions for the fixtures that could go a long way to deciding Kenny's future as Ireland boss.
Ireland will report to camp on Sunday, September 3 ahead of a busy week of action with the squad set to travel to Paris to take on France at the Parc des Princes on Thursday, September 7 before returning home to face the Netherlands at a sold-out Aviva Stadium on Sunday, September 10.
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