Dan Kelly’s strong start to life at Munster has been rewarded with a place in the Ireland XV squad set to play Spain in Leganés on November 8.
Ireland XV head coach Cullie Tucker named a 28-player squad on Thursday, with Ulster hooker Tom Stewart set to captain a group which feature eight other capped internationals.
Former Ireland Under-20 international centre Kelly, 24, has also experienced Test rugby, earning a cap for England in 2021 but is now eligible for Ireland once again through his Dublin-born grandfather. He left Leicester Tigers for Munster during the close season and having impressed at both inside and outside centre in a four-game winning start to the 2025-26 campaign, finds himself with some early recognition by Ireland selectors.
Captain Stewart’s Ulster front-row team-mate Tom O’Toole is the most experienced of the already-capped Irishmen, the prop having played 17 times. They are joined by Munster loosehead prop Michael Milne, Connacht lock Darragh Murray, Ulster wing Robert Baloucoune, Connacht wing Shayne Bolton, Leinster fly-half Harry Byrne, and Ulster full-back Michael Lowry and his provincial scrum-half Ben Murphy.
Kelly and Milne will be joined by Munster team-mates Lee Barron, Evan O’Connell and Ruadhan Quinn. There are eight Ulstermen, seven from Leinster and six from Connacht.
The IRFU also named Tucker’s coaching team with assistance coming from Munster’s Mossy Lawler (backs/attack coach), Ulster’s Jimmy Duffy (forwards coach) and Leinster’s Sean O’Brien (defence coach).
Ireland XV Squad:
Forwards (16): Lee Barron (Dublin University/Munster), James Culhane (UCD/Leinster), Sam Illo (Buccaneers/Connacht), Sean Jansen (Connacht), Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/ Leinster), David McCann (Banbridge/Ulster), John McKee (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Michael Milne (UCD/Munster), Darragh Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht), Evan O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Ruadhan Quinn (Old Crescent/Munster), Alex Soroka (Clontarf/Leinster), Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster) – captain, Alex Usanov (Clontarf/Leinster), Scott Wilson (QUB/Ulster)
Backs (12): Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster), Shayne Bolton (Connacht), Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster), Cathal Forde (Corinthians/ Connacht), Fintan Gunne (Terenure College/Leinster), Dan Kelly (Munster), Michael Lowry (Banbridge/Ulster), Ben Murphy (Clontarf/Connacht), Jack Murphy (Clontarf/ Ulster), Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh/Ulster), Zac Ward (Ballynahinch/Ulster).