James Lowe and Finlay Bealham are the most conspicuous exclusions from the 36-man Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations Championship fixtures against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.Lowe has seemingly played his last game for Ireland after rejecting a disimproved offer to remain with Leinster, instead opting to move to Japan next season.Connacht’s disappointment at seeing Bealham miss out is countered by the selection of a trio of uncapped forwards – Billy Bohan, Sam Illo and Sean Jansen – following the province’s strong second half to the season.Another notable absentee is Jack Crowley, one of a slew of players ruled out due to injury. The Munster outhalf emerged from the Six Nations having reasserted his status as Ireland’s first-choice 10, playing every minute of the concluding wins over England, Wales and Scotland.Why is James Lowe leaving Leinster? Listen | 28:43Speculation will mount as to who among Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley and Sam Prendergast will start against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies at a sold-out Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, July 4th.The other players ruled out through injury are Ryan Baird, Shayne Bolton, Jack Boyle, Edwin Edogbo, Tom Farrell, Mack Hansen, Paddy McCarthy, Calvin Nash and Andrew Porter.The squad will head to Sydney on Monday following Friday’s URC final between Leinster and the Bulls at Croke Park (kick-off 7.30pm).After the game against the Wallabies, Ireland will play Japan at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday, July 11th before travelling to Auckland to face the All Blacks on Saturday, July 18th.Munster's Jack Crowley is among the players to miss out on Andy Farrell's 36-man squad due to injury. Photograph: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said the Nations Championship “will bring the best of the northern hemisphere up against their southern counterparts”, adding the road to the finals weekend in London in November “starts now”.“We have three tough Tests against Australia, Japan and New Zealand,” said Farrell, “and it’s important that we hit the ground running in this new tournament.“The experience of playing down under will be priceless for us, and even though we’ll be playing in front of largely partisan home crowds, we are also excited about playing in front of a huge Irish support. Their dedication to the team never ceases to amaze us and with a huge diaspora down under I’m sure we can count on a large Irish following in Sydney, Newcastle and then on to Auckland.”Farrell confirmed the non-Leinster contingent completed a three-day training block at the IRFU high-performance centre in Dublin this week ahead of the squad’s departure on Monday.He also congratulated the three uncapped players included in the squad, saying they had “earned the right to be selected after their performances this season”.“Their selection, allied to an experienced majority who we hope to see perform strongly for Leinster in the BKT URC final on Friday night, will add great energy to the squad which we’ve been building over the last number of campaigns,” Farrell added.Ireland squadForwards (20): Tadhg Beirne, Billy Bohan*, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Sam Illo*, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sean Jansen*, Rónan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Darragh Murray, Tom O’Toole, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier/Backs (16): Bundee Aki, Rob Baloucoune, Harry Byrne, Craig Casey, Nathan Doak, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale.*uncappedFixturesSaturday, July 4th: Australia v Ireland; Allianz Stadium, Sydney, 11.10am Irish timeSaturday, July 11th: Japan v Ireland; McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, 11.10am Irish timeSaturday, July 18th: New Zealand v Ireland, Eden Park, Auckland, 8.10am Irish time