This summer the FAI Emerging Talent programme has entered teams in four prestigious tournaments. The youngest group, which consists of players born in 1995, who were selected at the 2009 Kennedy Cup, will play at the Hibernia Trophy hosted by St Josephs Boys in Sallynoggin, Dublin. This tournament will run from Friday August 28-30 and with teams from Ireland and abroad taking part this will be a fantastic learning experience for those young players.

The players born in 1994, who have already completed one season within the Regional Emerging Talent programme, will compete at the Umbro Galway Cup. All of the players have been selected from their local Regional centres and have also come through two days of national assessments in late June. In this competition, the players will again face competition from both home and abroad. The Umbro Galway Cup will run from August 5-8 at Salthill Devon FC, Galway.

The Foyle Cup in Derry which runs from July 21-25 will play host to our selection of boys born in 1993. As with our 1994 group, these players have all been selected from their local Regional centres and have come through two days of National assessments during late June in order to gain a place within this squad. Some of these players have already represented Ireland in both the Under 15 and Under 16 National teams while for others it will be their first experience of playing at a higher level.

Finally, our most senior group of emerging talent players, who are all born in 1992, will travel to Holland for the Den Haag tournament which runs from August 6-9. All of these players have now completed their eligibility at one our Regional centres countrywide. These players have also been selected from their local Regional centres and have come through four assessment days. Quite a few of this group have represented Ireland in the Under 15, 16 and 17 National teams so many of them have experiences of playing against foreign opposition and playing in foreign environments.

Foyle Cup 2009 Squad

1. Matthew Gledhill
2. Robbie Murray
3. Lee Delaney
4. Neill Yadolahi
5. Peter Nolan
6. Michael Barker
7. Stephen Jewell
8. Jason Murphy
9. Darragh Kenna
10. Adam Piggott
11. John Mountney
12. Michael Quinliven
13. Chris Lyons
14. Dan Mc Guinness
15. Graham Burke
16. Alan Smith
17. Patrick Seery
18. Mark Hughes

Umbro Galway Cup

1.Gary Wilde
2.Colm Horgan
3.Conor Acheson
4.Andrew Hickey
5.Colin Stowe
6.Robert Pearson
7.Ryan Matthews
8.Ciaran Doyne
9.Sean O'Boyle
10. Mark Timlin
11. Shane McGinty
12. John McKeown
13. Dylan Kearney
14. Michael Malone Byrne
15. Timmy Molloy
16. Sean Whitty
17. Barry Sheedy
18. Kurt Murphy

Hibernian Cup

1. Nathan Murray- Avenue Utd- Clare
2. Jarred O'Sullivan-Kingdom Boys- Kerry
3. David Tobin- Clontarf FC-NDSL
4. Noe Baba- Castlebar Celtic- Mayo
5. Jack Hale- Bohemians- Waterford
6. Kyle McFadden- Swilly Rovers- Donegal
7. Stuart Synnott- Newtown Juniors- Wicklow
8. Conor McDonald- Rock Celtic- Dundalk
9. Kevin Loughran- Monaghan Utd- Dundalk
10. Johnathan Leddy- Cavan Shamrocks- Cavan
11. Michael Casey- Ballisodare Utd- Sligo/Leitrim
12. Conor Tourish- Glencar- Donegal
13. Gary O'Neill- Kingdom Boys- Kerry
14. Darren Murphy- Rockmount- Cork
15. Conor O'Driscoll- Bunratty Utd- West Cork
16. James Kavanagh- Wicklow Rovers- Wicklow
17. Caolan Reilly- Cootehill Harps- Cavan
18. Sam O'Connor- Malahide Utd-NDSL