 Following this, McEleney appeared in all six of Dundalk's UEFA Champions League qualifying ties, playing a particularly crucial role in the 3–0 defeat of BATE Borisov in the third qualifying round second leg after coming off the bench for the injured Ronan Finn.McEleney played for the Northern Ireland Under-16 team before later representing the Republic of Ireland at youth level.He represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-17 level seven times and scored on his debut against Bulgaria in a 2–0 win at the Ovcha Kupel Stadium in August 2008.