[caption id="attachment_71704" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="James McClean. "]
The decision by Derry native James McClean to play soccer for the Republic of Ireland will lead to further tension between the North's Irish Football Association and the Republic's Football Association of Ireland as it could tempt more young players to make the jump over the Irish border.
Both McClean, who plays for Sunderland, and Everton's Darron Gibson, who has also declared for the Republic, are from the strongly nationalist city of Derry.
In recent years, football fans from a Catholic background from the North have been more inclined to support the Republic of Ireland than the Belfast-based Northern Ireland team which plays "God Save The Queen" as its national anthem before games and still flies the Union Jack at their home stadium, Windsor Park, which is situated in the loyalist Village area of the city.
The IFA in Belfast recently employed a new Northern Ireland manager in Michael O'Neill, who is Catholic, and are desperate to stem the flow of northern footballers to the Republic.
Along with Gibson and McClean other players to move over the border in recent years include Everton's Shane Duffy and Stoke's Marc Wilson.
Many Irish fans will be delighted with McClean's inclusion in the Republic's Euro squad. The 23-year-old winger has made a massive impression in his first season at Sunderland after signing from Derry City in the summer and was given a standing ovation at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin
when he came off the bench to make his senior debut for the Republic in February against the Czech Republic.
After hearing of his inclusion in the squad, McClean tweeted: "Absolutely honored and could not be happier to have been called up to represent my country at the European Championships. No better feeling."
The result of all this happiness, in part, were tweeted death threats.
