UPDATE 2-Elan nominates two dissidents to board

* Schuler called for Elan CEO to be fired

* Bryson is former Eli Lilly CEO

* Shares close up 1 percent at $8 on NYSE (Adds details, company comment, background)

LOS ANGELES, June 11 (Reuters) - Elan Corp Plc (ELN.I) (ELN.N) on Thursday nominated two dissidents to its 15-member board, including a major shareholder who has called for the ouster of the Irish drugmaker's chief executive.

Elan, based in Dublin, said it has proposed that Vaughn Bryson and Jack Schuler join nominee Richard Pilnik, whose appointment to the company's board was announced in mid-May, as nonexecutive directors of the company.

In conjunction with the proposed election of the three new directors, Elan announced the planned retirement of Floyd Bloom, Ann Gray and Dennis Selkoe from the board.

Schuler, the co-founder of private investment firm Crabtree Partners LLC and a former Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) executive, said in December that investors had "completely lost confidence" in Elan Chief Executive Kelly Martin and his management team.

At the time, he said he owned 5.5 million shares of Elan.

Martin was not available to comment on the nominations.