Fellow Irish League players Colin Coates, Martin Donnelly and Robert Garrett are new faces in the panel while Linfield keeper Alan Mannus is a regular in the squad.

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Over the past year, the campaign was covered in the Western media and garnered the support of notables such as the French and Canadian prime ministers' wives as well as international film stars like Lindsay Lohan, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Robert Redford and Juliette Binoche.

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He is one of five Irish League players in the panel, the others being Coleraine winger Stephen Carson, Linfield midfielder Robert Garrett and Crusaders pair Colin Coates and Martin Donnelly.

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And then look at the staunch defenders of Hagel's nomination: Republican Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell, Reagan's respected Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci and the first President Bush's national security adviser Brent Scowcroft.

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Squad regular Alan Mannus is joined by Crusaders pair Colin Coates and Martin Donnelly, Coleraine's Stephen Carson and Linfield midfielder Robert Garrett.

BBC: Irish League quintet in NI squad