Kearney, who toured with the British and Irish Lions in South Africa in 2009 returns to the starting line-up for the clash against Scotland this weekend, in a team captained for the first time by Leinster's Leo Cullen.

Connacht's Mike McCarthy makes his debut at blinside and the other uncapped player in the squad is Munster scrum-half Felix Jones who is named amongst the replacements.

Fergus McFadden and Paddy Wallace will form a new-look centre partnership, with Andrew Trimble and Lion Luke Fitzgerald named on the wings.

Tom Court, Sean Cronin and Tony Buckley will pack down in the front row, and Cullen is joined in the engime room by Donnacha Ryan.

New cap McCarthy will have plenty of experience alongside him in the back row - the 50-times capped Denis Leamy starts at number 8 and Niall Ronan will line out at openside flanker.

IRELAND v Scotland

15 - Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
14 - Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
13 - Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
12 - Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)
11 - Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
10 - Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
9 - Tomas O'Leary (Dolphin/Munster)
1 - Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
2 - Sean Cronin (Leinster)
3 - Tony Buckley (Sale Sharks)
4 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
5 - Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster) (capt)
6 - Mike McCarthy (Buccaneers/Connacht) *
7 - Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
8 - Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Replacements:

16 - Jerry Flannery (Shannon/ Munster)
17 - Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
18 - John Hayes (Bruff/Munster)
19 - Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 - Kevin McLaughlin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
21 - Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
22 - Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster) *