League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Kian Leavy of St Patrick’s Athletic. Show of faith 16-year-old Josh O’Dwyer to join senior Ireland squad alongside Kian Leavy of St Pat’s Shamrock Rovers youngster will join Red Bull Salzburg in July, while club colleague
Matt Healy has also been drafted in by Heimir Hallgrímsson. 5.01am, 30 May 2026 Share options JOSH O’DWYER COULD smash the record for youngest ever senior men’s Republic of Ireland international after the Shamrock Rovers academy star was drafted into the squad by manager Heimir Hallgrímsson for next week’s friendly with Canada. The 42 understands that the 16-year-old midfielder will be on the plane to Montreal this Saturday morning ahead of the game on 5 June (6 June Irish time). Should he make his debut,
the Dubliner will be 16 years, two months and 19 days old, comfortably clear of Jimmy Holmes who was 17 years, six months and 19 days old. O’Dwyer has represented the Boys in Green from U15 to U17 level, and he will also join Red Bull Salzburg from Rovers in July after an undisclosed fee was agreed earlier this year. An agreement has been reached that will see Academy player Josh O’Dwyer move to Red Bull Salzburg in July. Josh has been with Rovers Academy
from ten years of age. All at the club wish Josh well and look forward to following his development for club and country.… pic.twitter.com/hspRJHzTrr— Shamrock Rovers FC (@ShamrockRovers) April 14, 2026 An imposing midfielder who can operate in a variety of roles, O’Dwyer has been earmarked by the FAI as a high-potential talent worth fast tracking. He only turned 16 on St Patrick’s Day. Advertisement Rovers will have another midfielder in the Ireland squad this week with Matt Healy also joining teammates Ed McGinty and
Adam Brennan, who had already been part of the group that beat Qatar 1-0 on Thursday. The 42 also understands that St Patrick’s Athletic attacker Kian Leavy is set to be part of the travelling party and could be in line for a senior debut, while Bohemians captain Dawson Devoy will link up as planned after helping the Gypsies to a 3-1 win over Sligo Rovers on Friday. As had been previously stated, Caoimhín Kelleher, Dara O’Shea, Jayson Molumby and Jack Moylan will not travel
to Canada, and Mark Travers will come in along with Conor Coventry. It means that of the 22-man squad, 17 players either came through a League of Ireland academy or played senior football in the First or Premier Division. Add in former Sligo Rovers striker Owen Elding, now at Hibernian and on board as a training player before his citizenship is formalised, and that number rises further. Meanwhile, Hallgrímsson was once again asked about the Stop The Game protests that interrupted Thursday’s 1-0 win over
Qatar. The 42 reported on Friday that the FAI’s General Assembly also received the votes required to call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) with a non-binding motion to boycott the Nations League games with Israel later this year. “Does it concern me? From a footballing perspective it’s not fun when this happens, but we respect the protest. Do we do something drastic? I don’t think so. We just have to see how it turns out. Obviously I’ve told you before my stand on it, but
I don’t think we should boycott the game, if you are asking that,” Hallgrímsson said. “I don’t think we should boycott the game, given, number one, it would cost us probably that we would be relegated to League C. Future national teams will suffer. But most of all we are giving them gifts, we are giving them six points, six-zero in goal difference, and they will most likely win the Nations League group if we do that. “So we are handing them a gift. They
have six points and six-zero in goal-difference, it’s tough not to win the group with that. Then they have easier access to come and play in the finals in Ireland. “We are the football players, we are coaches, this is from a political level and those who are in government should take these decisions. We are part of Uefa and Fifa, so we need to go by their rules that they set. “That is our job. We are not better if we break the rules
ourselves. Ireland is a part of the EU, so we need to go by the rules that are set. We are a part of Uefa and Fifa, and we need to obey the rules there. If somebody takes another decision from above, then…” It was also subsequently reported by the Irish Sun that the FAI were preparing to hold an emergency board meeting on Tuesday with the sole item on the agenda to discuss the prospect of playing the 4 October game due to take
place in Dublin on netral territory instead. Speaking before that news broke, Hallgrímsson gave his thoughts on such a scenario. “Again, if I think from a football perspective, I am here to try to win games. We are representing the nation on the pitch, we are trying to win the game. Not playing in the Aviva would, of course, be difficult for us because we have been really good here, we have had such fantastic support here. We would always minimise our chances of winning
it if we played in a neutral venue or somewhere else.” David Sneyd Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “16-year-old Josh O’Dwyer to join senior Ireland squad alongside Kian Leavy of St Pat’s”. Recipient’s Email Feedback on “16-year-old Josh O’Dwyer to join senior Ireland squad alongside Kian Leavy of St Pat’s”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details
of the problem with the comment. This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity,
vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Name not provided Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion josh o’dwyer Republic Of Ireland Shamrock Rovers Show of faith St. Patrick’s Athletic back on track Bohemians move back
into second with comfortable win at Sligo Goals Galore Drogheda United and Waterford share the spoils in six-goal thriller hard fought Connacht’s season ends with URC quarter-final loss at Glasgow four and oh Goal-hungry Cork City secure fifth straight win to reinforce 12-point lead League of Ireland Shamrock Rovers show brilliance and resolve to send St Pat’s packing David Sneyd reports from Tallaght Stadium Galway United frustrate Shelbourne as unbeaten run stretches to seven games talk of the town Dundalk strengthen grip on top-four place
with win over Derry City James Lowe set to leave Leinster and Irish rugby this summer Murray Kinsella As it happened Glasgow Warriors v Connacht, URC quarter-final hard fought Connacht’s season ends with URC quarter-final loss at Glasgow Returning Nankivell the only change to Munster’s team to face the Bulls more from us Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV By-Elections 2026 Journal Media Advertise With Us Gender Pay Gap Report ’25 About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Gender Pay Gap Report ’25 Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2026 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate
within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account To continue
reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account Sign in to read more articles . Sign in or create a free account below Sign in to continue reading. Sign in or create a free account below
Josh O’Dwyer, Ireland squad, Canada friendly, Heimir Hallgrímsson, Shamrock Rovers, Red Bull Salzburg, Kian Leavy, Matt Healy, Mark Travers, Conor Coventry, Stop The Game protests