QPR, Ipswich Town and Birmingham City all Ireland-bound for summer friendlies

There are a host of tantalising fixtures on the horizon involving League of Ireland clubs, as a number of English and Scottish sides have opted, once again, to make the short cross-channel trip to kick-start their pre-seasons.

On Monday evening, the FAI announced a dozen friendlies that are scheduled to take place between the end of June and the beginning of August.

For anyone not lucky enough to have a ticket booked to Brazil for six weeks of international football, Dublin certainly isn't without its attractions for some enticing live domestic football over the summer.

As far as Championship talent is concerned, some quality teams will grace pitches up and down the country with newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers, Ipswich Town and a plucky Birmingham City all squaring up to some of the League of Ireland's top teams.

Perhaps the pick of the ties is Athlone Town versus QPR.

Getting an opportunity to see the Premier League's new boys in action before they begin what's sure to be an intriguing season in England's top-flight is sure to provide plenty of talking points – particularly if a certain Joey Barton takes to the field.

Meanwhile, the clash of Shelbourne and Ipswich is also sure to garner quite a bit of attention.

The mid-season friendlies will kick-off on June 21 when St Patrick's Athletic welcome Aberdeen – who narrowly missed out on second place in the SPL last season - to Richmond Park in what should also provide fans of the Saints with plenty to get excited about, especially with young Chris Forrester in fine recent form.

A chance for League of Ireland supporters to see some great rising potential before they hit the big-time as well as an opening to chart the progress of their very own club, there are certainly lots of reasons to get behind this exciting series of fixtures.

The fixture list, in full, is as follows:

Saturday, June 21: St. Patrick’s Athletic v Aberdeen, 4pm

Monday, June 30: UCD v Margate, 4.30pm

Tuesday, July 8: Cork City v Birmingham City, 7.45pm

Saturday, July 12: Shelbourne v Ipswich Town, 3pm

Monday, July 14: St. James’s Gate v MK Dons, 7.30pm

Monday, July 14: Shamrock Rovers v Wolves, 8pm

Tuesday, July 15: Drogheda United v MK Dons, 7.45pm

Tuesday, July 15: UCD v Bradford City, 7.45pm

Wednesday, July 16: Bohemians v Wolves, 7.45pm

Saturday, July 19: Drogheda United v Warrenpoint, 12noon

Saturday, July 19: Shelbourne v Bradford City, 3pm

Tuesday, August 5: Athlone Town v QPR, 7.45pm