Ireland U19 Squad Features Bologna, Hoffenheim and Strong LOI Core

Ireland have named a 21-player Under-19 squad for four friendlies against England, the Faroe Islands, Qatar and Azerbaijan, and there are a few eye-catching clubs on Noel Hunt’s team sheet.

Bologna, Hoffenheim, Bournemouth, Manchester United, Almería, Ipswich Town and Bristol City are all represented. Ireland start against England at St George’s Park on September 25 before heading to Slovenia for their other three games, with the window forming part of preparations for November’s UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

A few of those overseas moves have happened very recently.

Cillian Tollett was playing First Division football for Athlone Town a matter of weeks ago. He’s now a Bologna player.

The 18-year-old joined Galway United from Oughterard AFC at 13 and worked his way through the club’s U14, U15, U17 and U20 teams before making his senior debut at 16. A loan to Athlone this season brought regular first-team football and six league goals before Bologna paid Galway an undisclosed initial six-figure fee to take him to Italy.

Finn Sherlock made his move earlier, leaving Shelbourne for Hoffenheim in 2024, while Ade Solanke’s route took him from Shamrock Rovers to Lorient and then Bournemouth. Solanke featured regularly for Lorient’s U19 and reserve sides before officially joining Bournemouth after turning 18 in January. He’d also started four of Ireland’s five matches during last year’s run to the last 16 of the U17 World Cup.

Alex Noonan’s year has moved even quicker.

He started 2026 at Shamrock Rovers, made his senior debut against Derry City in the President’s Cup on January 31 and was an Ipswich Town player by September, joining initially on loan with an obligation to buy. Noonan had been with Rovers since he was 12 and left Tallaght with 32 Ireland underage appearances already behind him.

Billy O’Neill has followed another route from the League of Ireland into England. He became Bray Wanderers’ youngest-ever senior player at 15 years and 222 days and later became the youngest player to score a League of Ireland hat-trick since 1937 before Bristol City agreed a permanent move earlier this year.

There’s still plenty of senior football being played at home by the players who haven’t made that move yet.

Josh Cullen and Gavin McAteer are part of Finn Harps’ first-team squad this season, with both retained for the 2026 campaign. Cullen has already played a full 90 minutes for Ireland U19s in European qualification this year, while McAteer came off the bench in the same draw with Poland.

Ryan Butler is another who isn’t arriving at this camp without senior experience. The Wexford defender made 24 appearances in all competitions during his breakthrough 2025 season and has remained part of Stephen Elliott’s squad this year.

UCD have Sean Murphy, Goodness Ogbonna and Charles Akinrintayo in Hunt’s squad, while Max Kovalevskis represents Shamrock Rovers and Alex Flynn is included from Shelbourne.

St Patrick’s Athletic have three players involved in Luke Cullen, Billy Canny and Sam Rooney, and Rooney’s inclusion is one I’m particularly interested in.

He’s only 17, but he’s already given Pat’s supporters one moment they won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Rooney came off the bench against Shamrock Rovers in August and scored his first senior goal in extra-time to complete a comeback from 2-0 down and knock the holders out of the FAI Cup.

Stephen Kenny made a point afterwards of praising Rooney and fellow 17-year-old Ryan Sheridan, both academy players, for the difference they made after coming on.

Speak to people around Pat’s and Rooney’s football usually isn’t the only thing that comes up either. Those who’ve been involved with him talk about how hard he works, while supporters I’ve spoken to around the club describe a genuine young lad they’d love to see do well.

That makes this international window an exciting one for him.

Rooney is already starting to show he can handle senior football in games with something riding on them. Now he gets England at St George’s Park and another three internationals in the space of ten days. There’ll be plenty of eyes on those games and, after watching Tollett go to Bologna, Noonan to Ipswich and O’Neill to Bristol City in the space of a few months, you don’t need much imagination to see where a good season and a strong international camp can lead.

It’s one of the strange little bargains supporters make with academy football.

You want to see the local kid come through. You want him in the first team. You want him scoring the winner in front of you. Then, if he keeps doing it, you know somebody with a bigger budget is probably going to turn up.

Galway supporters got to watch Tollett before Bologna did. Bray had O’Neill before Bristol City. Rovers had Noonan and Solanke before England came calling. Shelbourne had Sherlock before Hoffenheim.

Pat’s supporters will hope they get plenty more of Rooney before anyone comes asking.

And if eventually somebody does, there’ll be a 15 or 16-year-old somewhere in an LOI academy looking at this Ireland squad and realising there’s a route from their training pitch to Bologna, Hoffenheim or the Championship too.

Ireland begin against England at 7pm on Friday, September 25, before facing the Faroe Islands on September 28, Qatar on October 1 and Azerbaijan on October 4.