Ireland has not featured for Ireland since his exit from the squad ahead of their Euro 2008 qualifier with the Czech Republic.
Ireland fabricated a faimily tragedy in order to return from international duty to be with his girlfriend.
But the 23-year-old insists he will not be feeling envious should the Republich of Ireland manage to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
“I never enjoyed my time playing for Ireland,” Ireland told the Daily Mail.
“I will watch the game but I don’t feel guilty ever. No manager would sway my decision now. Even if they get to the World Cup, there’s not a part of me that will think: ‘That could have been me’.
“They haven’t tried properly to get me back. It’s just lip service. Trapattoni rang me during the summer but it was more about him covering his back and having a press conference where he could say: ‘I’ve made the effort, I’ve spoken to Stephen, blah-blah’.”
