Séamus Coleman and Seán Maguire looked on from the sidelines as Mick McCarthy took charge of an Ireland training session for the first time in nearly 17 years at Abbotstown on Monday morning.
Coleman was rested after having played 90 minutes for Everton in the 2-0 win over Chelsea while Maguire, who scored another key goal for Preston on Saturday, sat out the first stage of the preparations of Saturday’s game in Gibraltar as a precautionary measure.
A handful of players had not arrived into Dublin in time to train with Conor Hourihane, Richard Keogh, Shane Duffy and Keiren Westwood all expected to join up with the group over the course of Monday.
James Collins was among the 14 outfield players who did take part in training with the 28 year-old Luton striker in an Irish senior squad for the first time.
Jack Byrne was also involved having received a call-up on Sunday following a strong performance for Shamrock Rovers on Friday when Mick McCarthy and other members of the senior international technical staff watched him in action.
