Swindon Town's Dawson Devoy made his Republic of Ireland debut against Canada in a squad featuring four ex-players. Whilst the Republic of Ireland missed out on qualification for this summer’s World Cup with a defeat to Czechia in the playoffs, they have still played two friendly matches after the end of the club season. Heimir Hallgrimsson picked a squad with many familiar faces as they were chosen by Qatar and Canada to help them warm up for the tournament, with a game in Dublin, a 1-0 win over Qatar, and one in Montreal, but the group also included some surprise Swindon alumni making their first steps into international football. Alongside Jake O’Brien, who spent six months with Swindon during the run to the playoffs in 2021/22 on loan from Crystal Palace, and Mark Travers, who had a brief spell as one of seven goalkeepers during the 2020/21 season, there were also call-ups for Conor Brann and Devoy. Brann never made a senior appearance for Swindon during his two seasons with the club, although he played back-up to Sol Brynn, following the exit of Lewis Ward to Sutton United, before spending half a season on loan at Swindon Supermarine once Ward returned, and then backed up Jack Bycroft once Ward left again. The goalkeeper is now with Cork City in the second tier of Irish football, but was called up to the senior squad after some impressive performances in the Rebel Army’s pursuit of the title. But one of his Swindon teammates, Devoy, also made the squad and was handed a debut as a starter against Canada during their 1-1 draw with Jesse Marsh’s Jamie Knight-Lebel- and Junior Hoilett-less side. Handed around 50 minutes in the centre of the park, the man who essentially replaced Dan Kemp on loan in January 2024 got a first senior run-out, having made seven appearances for the under-21s. O’Brien turned beyond Travers for the opening goal of the game, before Chiedozie Ogbene scored after an hour to see the match end as a 1-1 draw. Devoy got three goals and one assist during a half-season loan spell at Swindon, in which he had fluctuating performances during a difficult period as Town slipped to their lowest-ever league finish in the four-tier structure. Swindon looked to sign the midfielder permanently that summer, but he opted to head back to his boyhood club, Bohemians, where he was included in the PFAI Team of the Year for the 2025 season.