Munster flanker Niall Ronan has been called into the Ireland squad for the forthcoming tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Declan Kidney has called up the County Meath native as a replacement for Leinster’s Kevin McLaughlin, who is ruled out with a knee injury.
Ronan performed with credit for Munster in the Magners League this season but usually found himself behind David Wallace for the openside flanker position in Tony McGahan’s side for Heineken Cup games.
The 27-year-old, who won the first of his two Ireland caps against Canada last year, will join Wallace aboard the plane to the southern hemisphere next week.
McLaughlin, who sustained the injury during Leinster’s Magners League final defeat to Ospreys on Saturday evening, becomes the latest player to miss out on the summer tour, joining forward colleagues Paul O’Connell, Rory Best, Denis Leamy, Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris, while back three-quarter Luke Fitzgerald is another long-term absentee.
There are four uncapped players in the 33-man squad, with Leinster hooker John Fogarty and centre Fergus McFadden and Ulster forward pair Ed O’Donoghue and Chris Henry make to win a senior Ireland appearance.
Ireland face the Barbarians at Thomond Park this Friday (4 June) before Tests against New Zealand on 12 June, the New Zealand Maoris six days later and Australia on 26 June.
Ireland squad (v. Barbarians, New Zealand, Maoris and Australia):
Forwards: Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster), Tom Court (Malone/Ulster), Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht), Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster), John Fogarty (De la Salle Palmerston/Leinster), John Hayes (Bruff/Munster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster), Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster), Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster), Shane Jennings (St.Mary’s College/Leinster), John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht), Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster), Ed O’Donoghue (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster), Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster), David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster).
Backs: Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster), Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster), Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Tomas O’Leary (Dolphin/Munster), Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary’s College/Leinster), Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
