Conor Tourish says he wants to make the most of his call up to the Republic of Ireland amateur squad.
The Letterkenny Rovers centre-back (pictured by Joe Boland, North West News Pix) has been selected by Gerry Davis for a friendly against a Republic of Ireland U21 home-based squad next Wednesday in Dublin.
Tourish is the only Donegal man in the 19-man panel selected for the clash at Whitehall.
“I’m delighted to be involved,” said Tourish.
“I’ll go down now, see what it’s all about and hopefully show what I can do. You never know what could happen after that.
“I haven’t been involved in something like this for a few years now so I’m looking forward to it.”
Tourish spent five years at Derry City before injury ended his time in the Candystripes.
Tourish lined up previously in the Hibernia Cup and has played for a home-based Irish U18 squad in Wales under the management of Paul Doolin.
He has been a key performer for Rovers since returning to the Leckview Park outfit and was a stand-out for the Ulster Senior League at the FAI Intermediate Inter-Provincial Tournament.
Conor Tourish
Tourish added: “Peter Doherty and Jimmy Bradley were there already last year. With the standard of the Ulster Senior League, there definitely could have been other players called up.”
The defender was taken by surprise when a friend texted through his well wishes – the first Tourish heard of his call-up.
There was no element of surprise for Rovers manager Eamonn McConigley.
“Conor is a fantastic player,” McConigley said.
“He’s not missed a night’s training and he has worked very hard in every game. He definitely deserves the call up. It’s no surprise for us and we’re absolutely delighted for him.”
Tourish said: “We were flying up until Christmas. We came back a bit sluggish.
“The wee break was the worst thing for us. It was good to get a draw against Cockhill. It was a game that we couldn’t lose. We’re still there and fighting.”
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