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Corofin and Galway footballer Michael Farragher pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland senior football semi-final. Eóin Noonan/SPORTSFILE
Club Champs

10 Corofin players involved as Galway footballers start plans for 2020 season

The Galway club have won three All-Ireland titles since 2015.

THE CORE OF Corofin’s highly successful team are involved with the Galway senior squad as their 2020 preparations begin with the changes to the fixtures calendar a major potential benefit for the All-Ireland club champions.

Corofin have won three All-Ireland deciders in March over the last five seasons while they also contested a semi-final in February 2017.

The shift away from the traditional St Patrick’s Day slot means the 2020 club final will take place on 19 January with the semi-finals moving from their usual February date to Saturday 4 January.

Ten Corofin players have been drafted in by new manager Padraig Joyce to his extended Galway setup. Their current focus is on a semi-final tie against Munster champions Nemo Rangers on 4 January.

Attacker Michael Farragher hopes that whenever their club campaign concludes that the Corofin players will have better chance to impress for places in the Galway setup.

A quintet from Corofin – Bernard Power, Liam Silke, Ian Burke, Martin Farragher and Kieran Molloy – featured during Galway’s 2019 exit at the hands of Mayo.

“There’s in total ten there at the minute in the Galway development panel,” says Farragher.

“There’s eight and then there’s two lads from the U20s that are kind of brought in as well. There’s a good few of us, not to say everyone’s going to be there come championship panel or not. Myself, Martin the brother, Jason Leonard, Ronan Steede, Ian Burke, Kieran Molloy, Bernard Power, Liam Silke, then Darragh Silke and (Gavin) Burke from the U20.

“It (the long seasons) definitely has been a factor. You’re missing out on all pre-season, you’re missing out on the FBD League, the National League and then there’s championship.

“It’s very hard to try to break into a panel if you’re not being looked at week in week out to show that you can prove that you’re good enough for that level.”

Farragher is excited at the prospect of working with Joyce, a Galway football great who grew up idolising from the stands and got to witness the attacking capabilities of the two-time Sam Maguire winner up close back in the 2010 county senior final.

He also praises the role of Kevin Walsh, the departing Galway manager this year, for the condition he left the county side in.

“Ah yeah he’s a legend in Galway, Connacht and Ireland. He’s done it all. Lucky enough to play against him. They beat us in a county final in Pearse Stadium, Killererin. Himself and Nicky (Joyce) and Tommy (Joyce), they did the damage to us that day which was another heartbreaker. He was a serious player, he’s all the silverware to prove it.

“It seems a different setup. It’s a small bit more positive in football sense, it’s attacking football. Padraic seems to be chomping at the bit to bring more success. It’s a good setup at the minute. Padraic and his backroom team, there’s serious names there and they’ve great experience and hopefully they can bring success.

“Obviously Kevin left Galway football in a great place. He managed to bring back Connacht titles and a league title. The statement that he made coming in was to leave Galway football in a better place. Maybe in the last year they didn’t perform as well as they possibly wanted to due to injuries but to come in and bring a couple of Connacht (titles) back was massive. Mayo were on a real run for a while, it was great that he came in and put in that structure to knock them off the pedestal.”

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