Lee Carsley, the Derby County midfield player, is in contention for a place in the Republic of Ireland team for the World Cup meeting with Romania at Lansdowne Road on October 11th.
In naming Carsley in his squad for the first time, Mick McCarthy delivered on his promise to reward players who prove their worth on a consistent basis in the Premiership.
Judged on that criterion, the promotion of Stephen Carr, a regular member of Tottenham's team in the last year, is surprising only in the fact that it has been delayed so long.
A third uncapped player among the 22 who will travel to Dublin next Monday is Michael Evans, the Southampton forward, who is still in the process of securing an Irish passport.
In line with his thinking to protect some of the 11 players currently on yellow cards, McCarthy has decided against calling up Dennis Irwin or Steve Staunton. Several others under threat of suspension for the two-legged World Cup play-off are likely to be deployed solely as cover for the Romanian fixture.
Carsley, described with characteristic generosity by manager Jim Smith as Derby County's most consistent player of the season to date, has already been capped at under-21 level and last March was in the "B" team which played the National League at Tolka Park.
McCarthy was impressed by his competitive qualities on the two occasions, he watched him this season and with Roy Keane's immediate future now even more uncertain, his specialist qualities as a defensive midfielder could be valuable.
Whether they yet stretch to the point where he could reasonably be expected to take care of Gheorghe Hagi, the celebrated Romanian, is another matter, but his selection is, nonetheless, significant.
Evans's nomination is surprising considering that no later than Monday McCarthy appeared to be thinking in terms of a New Year debut for the 24-year-old striker who qualifies because of an Irish grandmother. It now appears that the requisite documentation establishing his ancestry has been obtained and in that situation it was decided to call him up sooner rather than later.
A prolific scorer with Plymouth Argyle before joining Southampton, he is a tall player with a reputation as a good competitor. And while he is unlikely to find a way into the starting line-up, he could be used at some stage of the game.
On Carr's summons to arms, McCarthy said: "His performances with the under-21 team have been very impressive but unfortunately from his point of view, he is competing for a position in the team in which we have any number of options. Now he may have the chance of proving that he deserves to be included on a more regular basis.
"There is no significance in the exclusion of either Dennis Irwin or Steve Staunton, other than me wanting to protect them in the circumstances in which they find themselves. I have spoken with both of them and explained my thinking to them."
Curtis Fleming is back in the squad after a long sequence of injury problems but unfortunately the misfortune of his Middlesbrough team-mate Alan Moore is on-going. After contacting Bryan Robson on Tuesday, McCarthy was told that Moore will have to undergo further treatment for a groin problem .
Gareth Farrelly, who won the last of his three caps as far back as June of last year, is recalled to the squad and that is no more than just reward for a player who impressed both McCarthy and Ian Evans when promoted to captaincy of the under-21 team.
With several of his defenders on a booking going into the Romanian game, McCarthy confessed to some satisfaction at the recent performances of Liverpool's Phil Babb.
Senior: S Given (Newcastle Utd), A Kelly (Sheffield Utd), G Kelly (Leeds Utd), T Phelan (Everton), I Harte (Leeds Utd), P Babb (Liverpool), G Breen (Coventry), K Cunningham (Wimbledon), J Kenna (Blackburn), C Fleming (Middlesbrough), S Carr (Tottenham), A Townsend (Middlesbrough), R Houghton (Reading), A McLoughlin (Portsmouth), J McAteer (Liverpool), L Carsley (Derby County), G Farrelly (Everton), D Connolly (Feyenoord), A Cascarino (AS Nancy), M Kennedy (Liverpool), D Kelly (Tranmere Rovers), M Evans (Southampton).
Under-21: D O'Connor (Huddersfield), P Whelan (Shelbourne), A Maybury (Leeds Utd), R Ryan (Huddersfield), A Folan (Crystal Palace), C Hawkins (St Patrick's Ath), D Worrell (Blackburn), R Darcy (Tottenham), S Baker (Middlesbrough), T Morgan (St Patrick's Ath), J Burns (Notts Forest), A Mahon (Tranmere), N Inman (Peterborough Utd), K Kilbane (West Brom), B Conlon (Man City), T Molloy (St Patrick's Ath), A Lee (Aston Villa), D Baker (Shelbourne).
