Republic of Ireland squad: Maguire earns senior international call-up

Sean Maguire has earned his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad just weeks after making his debut for Preston North End PICTURE: PNEFC.NET

placeholder image — Sean Maguire has earned his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad just weeks after making his debut for Preston North End PICTURE: PNEFC.NET

Sean Maguire's wait to wear the green of Ireland may be over.

The Kilkenny striker, who has just signed for Preston North End, earned his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland's senior men's squad for the games away to Georgia and at home to Serbia.

Irish manager Martin O'Neill made the announcement this morning (Monday) at a press conference in SSE Airtricity's headquarters. O'Neill selected a provisional 39-man panel for the games as Ireland aim to push towards qualification for next summer's World Cup in Russia.

Maguire, who remains the top scorer in the SSE Airtricity League due to his 20-goal haul with Cork City before joining Preston, is among three newcomers to the squad. Matt Doherty and Liam Kelly have also been called up while Greg Cunningham, who earned the last of his four senior caps in 2013, is brought in following fine form at club level.

Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has included Sean Maguire in his provisional squad for September's games against Georgia and Serbia

There are also recalls for Rob Elliot, Paul McShane, Ciaran Clark, James McCarthy, Stephen Quinn, David Meyler, Shane Long and Kevin Doyle, who all missed the games against Mexico, Uruguay and Austria.

The players will report into camp on Monday, August 28, where O'Neill will trim the panel ahead of training at the FAI National Training Centre. The squad will depart for Tbilisi on Thursday, August 31 and return to Dublin on September 3.

Tickets for the home game against Serbia at Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, September 5 are still available via ticketmaster.ie

Republic of Ireland MNT Provisional Squad

Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph (Middlesbrough), Keiren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday), Rob Elliot (Newcastle United), Colin Doyle (Bradford City)

Defenders: Cyrus Christie (Middlesbrough), Richard Keogh, Alex Pearce (Derby County), Paul McShane (Reading), Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United), John O'Shea (Sunderland), John Egan (Brentford), Greg Cunningham (Preston North End), Kevin Long, Stephen Ward (Burnley), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Midfielders: Aiden McGeady (Sunderland), James McClean (West Bromwich Albion), Glenn Whelan, Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady (Burnley), James McCarthy (Everton), Stephen Quinn, Liam Kelly (Reading), David Meyler (Hull City), Harry Arter (Bournemouth), Eunan O'Kane (Leeds United), Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City), Jonathan Hayes (Celtic), Callum O'Dowda (Bristol City), Alan Browne, Daryl Horgan (Preston North End)

Forwards: Jonathan Walters (Burnley), Shane Long (Southampton), Daryl Murphy (Nottingham Forest), David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town), Kevin Doyle (Colorado Rapids), Sean Maguire (Preston North End)