Heimir Hallgrímsson uncovered a gem when he handed a debut in May to former Shelbourne attacker Jack Moylan

Jack Moylan has been hailed as a “breath of fresh air” around the Irish camp.

The Cardiff City star has made a sensational impact since his arrival onto the international stage in May, when he scored a debut hat-trick in a 5-0 friendly win against Grenada.

Last month’s goal against Israel has brought his tally to four in six senior Ireland caps, while he has also popped up with two assists.

The former Shelbourne attacker made the move from Lincoln City to Cardiff during the summer, after helping fire the Imps to promotion to the Championship.

He has scored 11 goals in 17 appearances so far for the Bluebirds, including 10 in the Championship.

But it’s not just his on-the-field performances that have impressed Ipswich Town and Ireland centre-half Dara O’Shea.

“Jack is a real joy to watch for any football fan, he has that street footballer style about him,” said the Dubliner.

“You can give him the ball in any area and he is comfortable to have it. Even speaking to him since he came into the group, he has been a breath of fresh air in a way.

“He is probably someone who got success in football later in life, coming over in a different way.

“Yeah, I am really happy for him. He’s flying at club level and doing really well for us at international level, too and what he can kick on to and what he can reach in his career is really exciting.”

Ireland assistant manager John O’Shea also praised Moylan for the way he took his opportunity to impress Heimir Hallgrímsson.

The harsh red card that he picked up in his second appearance - in the friendly win against Qatar - seems like a long time ago now.

“I am really impressed,” said the former Manchester United star. “Going back to the May camp, that was the key.

“When you think of a new player coming into a new environment and understanding how he’s going to react, how he’s going to be around the group and then, ultimately, how he’s going to train and perform., we were talking a couple of days ago about how he actually impacted the first couple of training sessions when we saw him.

“It was brilliant. He just had that quality, that workrate and the finishing ability.

“He was able to bring all those aspects to the team and when you have that in a squad, a player just showing that desire straight away, ‘I want to be first and foremost in the squad but then to be in the 11 and stay in the 11’, and do everything he can.

“He’s had a change of clubs in the meantime and had an impact for a new club.

“We hope there’s more growth to come from Jack, it’s a pleasing aspect when someone gets a chance like that and takes it with both hands and kicks on at their club as well.”