In-form Sunderland winger makes the cut for Giovanni Trapattoni's boys in green but Wigan midfielder James McCarthy has not been included after withdrawing from selection
Sunderland star James McClean has been named in Giovanni Trapattoni's 23-man Republic of Ireland squad for Euro 2012 but James McCarthy will miss out after withdrawing for personal reasons.
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The Italian veteran named his squad at 15:30 local time and confirmed that McClean had made the final 23 after a stellar second half of the season with his club. However, Wigan's McCarthy will miss the tournament after his father was diagnosed with cancer and he informed the national coach, who reassured the midfielder that he is in his plans for the future.
There were few surprises in the final squad, with Stephen Hunt making included despite a recent injury scare. Trapattoni has named five players on standby, including Seamus Coleman of Everton.
McClean's addition to the squad was hailed by the Ireland coach, who told reporters: "He has a good personality, he's young, he's strong, physically strong. He's improved, he's grown. I think he can give us energy. He scores goals, it's very important."
"With three games, we need the players to fill in for [Damien] Duff and [Aiden] McGeady, maybe in the second or third games. It will also help him for the future. He will be confident."
McCarthy issued a statement after his withdrawal, saying: "I have made the difficult decision to withdraw my name from selection for the Euro 2012 squad following the diagnosis of my father with cancer and ongoing requirement for treatment. I have discussed this with the manager. He was very understanding and I thank him sincerely for that."
Trapattoni told reporters that the Latics midfielder had broken the news to him last week and said that the player had made the right decision.
"I prefer him to stay at home. Psychologically he's not ready," said the 73-year old.
"In the future, he will be with us in the next campaign."
Ireland squad for friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 2, Hungary on June 4 and Euro 2012:
| Goalkeepers | Club |
| David Forde | Millwall |
| Shay Given | Aston Villa |
| Keiren Westwood | Sunderland |
| Defenders | |
| Richard Dunne | Aston Villa |
| Kevin Foley | Wolves |
| Stephen Kelly | Fulham |
| Darren O'Dea | Celtic |
| John O'Shea | Sunderland |
| Sean St Ledger | Leicester City |
| Stephen Ward | Wolves |
| Midfielders | |
| Keith Andrews | West Bromwich Albion |
| Damien Duff | Fulham |
| Keith Fahey | Birmingham City |
| Darron Gibson | Everton |
| Stephen Hunt | Wolves |
| James McClean | Sunderland |
| Aiden McGeady | Spartak Moscow |
| Glenn Whelan | Stoke City |
| Forwards | |
| Simon Cox | West Bromwich Albion |
| Kevin Doyle | Wolves |
| Robbie Keane | LA Galaxy |
| Shane Long | West Bromwich Albion |
| Jonathan Walters | Stoke City |
Standby list:
| Seamus Coleman | Everton |
| Paul Green | Derby County |
| Andy Keogh | Millwall |
| Paul McShane | Hull City |
| Darren Randolph | Motherwell |
