Charlton Athletic midfielder Mel Filis has been included in Carla Ward's first Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations League clashes against Turkey and Slovenia.
The Luton-born 22-year-old qualifies to represent the Girls in Green through her Knock-born mother.
Ruesha Littlejohn, Marissa Sheva and back-up goalkeeper Grace Moloney all get the nod despite currently being without clubs. Littlejohn and Moloney were both released from London City Lionesses earlier this month, while Sheva has been a free agent since her contract at Portland Thorns expired before Christmas.
Lucy Quinn returns having missed the Euro 2025 play-off semi-final games against Georgia and two-legged final versus Wales.
Ward is unable to call on the injured Louise Quinn, Tara O'Hanlon, Lily Agg, Jamie Finn and Jess Ziu, while Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell and Julie-Ann Russell have recently retired.
Former Aston Villa boss Ward was appointed head coach in mid-January, succeeding Eileen Gleeson whose contract was not renewed following the defeat to Wales.
She'll observe a behind-closed-doors game on Wednesday between an Ireland Development Group team and the Under-19s to learn more about players either on the fringes of the squad or playing in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic), Grace Moloney (Unattached)
Defenders: Heather Payne (Everton), Jessie Stapleton (Sunderland – on loan from West Ham United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses), Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Lazio), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Ruesha Littlejohn (Unattached), Marissa Sheva (Unattached), Melisa Filis (Charlton Athletic)
Forwards: Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Emily Murphy (Newcastle United)
FIXTURES
Friday 21 February: Republic of Ireland v Turkey, Tallaght Stadium, 7.30pm
Tuesday 25 February: Slovenia v Republic of Ireland, Bonfika Stadium, 5pm
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Celtic v Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Digital highlights of games available from Thursday morning
