Ireland 23 Barbarians 29:Shane Horgan, Fergus McFadden, Jonathan Sexton and Jerry Flannery have emerged as the latest injury concerns for Ireland coach Declan Kidney as he prepares to take his squad on a tour of New Zealand and Australia.
McFadden (broken jaw) and Flannery (calf) were both casualties from tonight’s defeat at the hands of the Barbarians.
Horgan and Sextom both withdrew from the match before kick-off, Horgan suffering from a stomach complaint while Sexton complained of a sore mouth. The IRFU are expected to issue an update on the touring party tomorrow morning.
As for the match itself, Ireland produced an improved second-half display but it was not enough to deny the Barbarians a three-try win at Thomond Park.
Efforts from Barbarians captain Xavier Rush, his back-row colleague George Smith and winger Cedric Heymans helped the visitors collect the MasterCard trophy, with Brock James and the retiring Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kicking the rest of their points.
Former Ireland lock Malcolm O'Kelly also bowed out on a high, playing his final professional game at the home of his long-time provincial rivals Munster, who provided Alan Quinlan and Paul Warwick to the Baa Baas side.
Ireland, who trailed 21-3 at one stage, fought back either side of half-time with tries from Niall Ronan and Tony Buckley, and captain Ronan O'Gara's right boot closed the gap to six points.
But a final-quarter push produced no reward for the men in green as Philippe Saint Andre's collection of world stars hung on to take a notable win.
For Kidney, there was much to ponder from this performance as his side build for two heavyweight Tests against New Zealand and Australia - the first of which is against the All Blacks in New Plymouth next Saturday.
Under O'Gara's baton, Ireland were decidedly flat in the opening half before an injury-time try from Ronan gave them some much-needed spark.
Knock-ons and some fussy refereeing from Romain Poite made for a stop-start opening quarter, with the crowd baying for the sides to cut loose. The Baa Baas had the territorial dominance and James landed two penalties after 12 and 18 minutes to nudge them ahead.
David Smith, Casey Laulala and Seru Rabeni threatened from long range, and the latter also clattered McFadden with a first-up tackle that left the Irish requiring treatment.
John Muldoon gained some vital yardage for the hosts and O'Gara's 20th-minute penalty cut the gap to 6-3. With Schalk Brits showing well in open play, the Barbarians ploughed on and Rush dumped his Irish counterpart O'Gara to the turf.
James then converted another penalty before the invitational side scored the opening try.
The scrum had been a problem area for Ireland, with Poite's interpretation and delayed calls not helping, and off a set-piece in the 22 the lively Pierre Mignoni combined with Rush to send the big New Zealander over for the opening try.
James missed the conversion and although Barbarians prop David Barnes was then sin-binned for an off-the-ball offence, the tourists increased their lead two minutes before the break.
Another handling error saw Ireland botch an attacking situation, leaving Laulala with a 70-metre run to the line. Rob Kearney did brilliantly to make up the ground and haul the former All Black down, but the second wave allowed Smith to crash over despite Gavin Duffy's best efforts.
James converted, only for Ireland to hit back with a wonderful team try. Andrew Trimble made the initial incision and Chris Henry and Duffy continued the move before Ronan used a great angle to take O'Gara's inside ball and raid in behind the posts for a timely seven-pointer.
As ever with these friendly encounters, a raft of substitutions did little for the flow of the second half but Ireland were definitely on the up and O'Gara fired over the second of two penalty attempts.
But scores were much easier for the Barbarians to come by and just a minute later, James' looping pass created a two-on-one overlap which saw David Smith pass for Heymans to score in the left corner.The Baa Baas were content to soak up the Irish pressure thereafter and their lack of adventure, at the end of a long season, was evident when Elissalde was called on to kick a close-range penalty to make it 29-13.
Helped by an experienced bench, Ireland made life tough for them in the final quarter and powerful prop Buckley fended off three defenders as he bulldozed his way to the try-line after a 60th-minute tap penalty.
O'Gara thumped the touchline conversion over and added a third penalty to get his side in contention for a win that looked well beyond them at one stage.
Trimble, Muldoon and replacements Tommy Bowe and Paddy Wallace were becoming more prominent in broken play as the Irish built for a final crescendo.
Their endeavour will certainly have pleased Kidney, but the lack of a killer finish left the Barbarians to celebrate a maiden Thomond Park win.
Ireland:Kearney, J. Murphy, Duffy, McFadden, Trimble, O'Gara, Stringer, Horan, Cronin, Buckley, O'Donoghue, Tuohy, Muldoon, Ronan, Henry. Replacements:Bowe for Kearney (54), D. Wallace for McFadden (40), O'Leary for Stringer (62), Court for Horan (65), Flannery for Cronin (55), M. O'Driscoll for O'Donoghue (55), O'Callaghan for Tuohy (55).
Sin Bin:O'Donoghue (35).
Barbarians:Warwick, Heymans, Laulala, Rabeni, D. Smith, B. James, Mignoni, Barnes, Brits, Johnston, Thion, O'Kelly, Quinlan, G. Smith, Rush. Replacements:Estebanez for Rabeni (64), Elissalde for B. James (50), Kelleher for Mignoni (50), White for Barnes (46), August for Brits (52), So'oialo for O'Kelly (52), Williams for Rush (62).
Sin Bin:Barnes (36).
Att:26,000
Ref:Romain Poite (France).