Kasey McAteer's late uncle Joe will never get to see his nephew pull on the green Ireland jersey, however, the new recruit will have plenty of family support in the stands should he make his debut against England on Saturday.
The Leicester City attacking midfielder arrived in Dublin at the weekend for his first international camp following the completion of his paperwork and receiving FIFA clearance.
McAteer declared for the Republic – his grandparents hail from Offaly and Belfast – under the Stephen Kenny regime, however, injury and the aforementioned bureaucracy prevented him from featuring during John O’Shea’s short stint in charge of the squad.
"My late uncle Joe was a massive follower of Ireland. Everywhere he went he wore a little Irish badge and always reminded me that my blood is with Ireland."
O’Shea remains, of course, in an assistant coaching capacity, and McAteer credits the chats with the former interim manager and Kenny with making it a "no-brainer" in terms of coming to play for Ireland.
And McAteer arrives into a squad in transition following the arrival of new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, and it affords the lively Leicester man the chance to come straight into the selection with a strong possibility of making his international debut over the course of the upcoming Dublin double-header.
"It took a while to get things sorted, to get my Irish passport, but I am here now and am happy to get started," said McAteer, speaking at a press conference following training on Tuesday, where Seamus Coleman and Andrew Omobamidele sat out of the session.
"I felt like I was wanted here from the chats I had with John O’Shea and before that Stephen Kenny. I wanted to get started as soon as possible. It was sort of a no-brainer for me to come here, to play for a country, and a country that seems so driven and determined.
"My grandma was from County Offaly. She was born there, she grew up there and then she moved out to Birmingham when she was in her 20s and then to Northampton where she settled down with my grandfather. Obviously she had my mum, aunties and uncles.
"My late uncle Joe was a massive follower of Ireland. Everywhere he went he wore a little Irish badge and always reminded me that my blood is with Ireland. That was always drilled into me from young and hopefully he can be proud looking down on me.
"There are seven of my family coming over. They are all looking forward to it. I had a phone call with them last night, with my mum and dad, and they are all excited to be coming over and I am sure they will have a great time."
The 22-year-old winger has been at Leicester since he was a child coming through the academy. He broke into the first team squad during the 2021-22 season - making his Premier League debut as a sub in a victory over Newcastle - before getting sent out on loan to the lower leagues, helping Forest Green Rovers to the League 2 title in 2022, before enjoying a spell with Wimbledon the following season.
McAteer then broke into the first team back at his parent club last season and enjoyed an extended run in the starting eleven, before getting sidelined through injury.
His six goals in 23 league appearances helped the club back to the Premier League last season, and McAteer has since enjoyed another taste of top-flight action, coming on as a substitute last week against Aston Villa.
"Going down to League Two, you really have to learn the hard way, you don’t really get the luxury of being looked after like you do in the Premier League and Championship," said McAteer, when asked about his experiences in the lower leagues and how they have helped him develop into an international footballer.
"You have to go down to those leagues and suffer at times and, coming into the Championship, I felt it was my time really, to put my stamp on things at Leicester.
"A few injuries held me back during the season but I’ve managed to come through them and I feel stronger day by day and hopefully I can just take that forward going into the Premier League.
"It’s the best league in the world in my opinion so hopefully every time I get to play in the Premier League I can show what I can do."
McAteer also benefitted from being in the midst of the madness of Leicester shocking world football as they stormed to the Premier League title in 2016.
A young impressionable teenager getting to sit on the sidelines of history, and to help out as a ballboy throughout the dramatic season fuelled the fire to follow in the title-winning team’s footsteps.
And now McAlteer gets to share a dressing room with one of his boyhood heroes, Jamie Vardy, who was the driving force behind that incredible Leicester league win.
"I think the one that would come straight into my head would be Jamie Vardy," said McAteer, when asked about his experiences with the champions.
"Obviously that season, he was unbelievable. His story coming from non-league, all the way to the Premier League, and finishing with the title – and back then I was ball boy so I was watching them week-in, week-out and getting the results that finished with them winning the title - and everyone saw the celebrations that he brought.
"And now to being in a dressing room where I can call him my team-mate, you take a lot from his past experiences and what he gives down to the younger guys coming through like me, it’s a really good thing to have in Jamie and I just try and learn day by day from him."
McAteer was the first player of the current squad to be able to publicly comment on their experiences working under the two-day old Hallgrimsson regime.
And the first impressions have been positive, as McAteer revealed that Hallgrimsson has offered the squad a "clear vision" of his philosophy and plans for this Ireland team.
"Yeah, he has been very good. We have only been training two days, today and yesterday, while we have been having a few meetings too with him and staff and there is a clear vision in the squad and obviously we respect that the game coming up against England is a very tough game. Obviously Greece will be as well. We have to be fully ready for that."
Republic of Ireland's latest recruit Kasey McAteer says the squad are buying in to the new ways of manager Heimir Halgrímsson @IrelandFootball #NationsLeague #rtesport pic.twitter.com/D2sfk8MRzV
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 3, 2024
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