New season starts for Galway

The inter-county GAA year swings into action this weekend with the Galway footballers and hurlers both making their 2017 debuts on Sunday afternoon.
The footballers begin the defence of the Connacht FBD League title won last January with wins over Sligo, Leitrim, GMIT and, in the final, Roscommon. Of course, 2016 will be remembered for the county’s first Connacht SFC title in eight years which preceded a heavy All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Tipperary at Croke Park.
As is tradition in recent years, Sligo provide the opposition in the competition opener and with Enniscrone and Tuam Stadium alternating venues in recent times, it’s Galway’s turn to make the trek up the N17 to the home of local Enniscrone-Kilglass club.
Another away trip follows against Leitrim in Ballinamore on January 15 before Galway complete their group programme against GMIT — a fixture originally down for Loughgeorge but now pencilled in for Pearse Stadium on January 22.
Sean Armstrong, Fiontán O Curraoin and Johnny Duane have all returned to the fold for the new season, while Galway manager Kevin Walsh, beginning the first year in a new three-year term, can also call on a larger Corofin contingent this season, including Micheál Lundy who returned from the United States in October.
Corofin’s All-Ireland semi-final with Dr Crokes goes ahead on Saturday, February 11 and a number of their county contingent  may see action in the FBD before switching their focus to club matters.
Others to earn call-ups are Cillian McDaid (Monivea-Abbey), Sean Kelly (Moycullen), Michael Daly (Mountbellew-Moylough) along with goalkeepers Connor Gleeson (Dunmore MacHales) and Ruairí Lavelle (Renvyle). Luke Burke (Caltra), Jack Wyndham (An Cheathrú Rua), Sean Corbett (Cárna-Caiseal), David Walsh (Killannin) and Barry McHugh (Mountbellew-Moylough) are all new to the panel also.