Stokes included in Under-19 squad

Republic of Ireland Under-19 manager Sean McCaffrey has named his 18-man squad for the upcoming UEFA Elite phase qualifying series which will be staged in Ireland from 14 - 19 May.

Sunderland striker Anthony Stokes is included in the panel, fresh from helping the Black Cats clinch promotion to the Premiership last weekend.

The second, Elite qualifying phase group pits Ireland against Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria. The four nations are set to play each other on a round-robin basis with only the team that finishes top of the group advancing to the Under-19 European Championship Finals, to be staged in Austria from 16-27 July.

Ireland will open their group against Bulgaria on Monday, May 14th, followed two days later when they host Germany. They conclude the series on Saturday, May 19th by facing Hungary.

Apart from Irish senior International Stokes, who has scored 16 times this season during spells with Falkirk and Sunderland, McCaffrey has been able to call upon seven other players to have already sampled first-team football with their clubs in Britain.

Captain Eddie Nolan along with Michael Spillane, Robert Bayly, Stephen Gleeson, Adam Rooney, Keith Treacy and Cillian Sheridan have all featured in league action whilst many other squad members are pressing for a breakthrough at club level.

McCaffrey expects Ireland's path to the Finals to be a difficult one but is confident that his squad contains the right blend of quality, experience and determination to negotiate their way to the Championships.

"The players have worked hard to get into this position where they know they are just three games away from reaching the UEFA Finals," he said. "I had to make some difficult decisions in selecting this squad but have chosen the players who I believe can carry us through three demanding fixtures over a six-day period. The presence of Anthony Stokes in the squad is a big boost and I expect him to compliment the rest of the attackers including Adam Rooney - our top scorer so far this season," the manager said.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U19 SQUAD:
Stephen Henderson                Aston Villa
Shane Redmond                     Nottingham Forest
Simon Madden                       Leeds Utd
Scott Davies                           Reading
Edward Nolan                        Blackburn Rovers
Michael Spillane                     Norwich City
Darren Dennehy                     Everton
Shane Lowry                         Aston Villa
Alan Judge                            Blackburn Rovers
Alan Power                           Nottingham Forest
Stephen Gleeson                   Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matthew Cassidy                   Bolton Wanderers
Robert Bayly                         Leeds Utd
Keith Treacy                         Blackburn Rovers
Adam Rooney                       Stoke City
Aidan Downes                       Everton
Anthony Stokes                     Sunderland
Cillian Sheridan                      Celtic