Agreed, but remember that there are only certain dates allocated to international football when the clubs are obliged to release players. Those dates will also include competitive U21 internationals. On any other dates the clubs will say feck off, and in the latter stages of a season will be slow to release players even when they have to. C'est la vie.
My guess (hope) is that the FAI & Trap are fully aware of the usefulness of such games, but opportunities are limited.
I do also believe that there is a genuine chain of information from Doolin / King up to the senior squad. I've seen some quotes to that effect.
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