The Carlton Hotel was the venue on Tuesday night for the Bank of Ireland Connacht Rugby Squad Launch. The event was an opportunity for the Bank of Ireland to introduce their renewed sponsorship of Connacht Rugby, a sponsorship that has spanned 14 years, making it the longest running professional sponsorship in Irish sport. Donal Flynn, regional manager of Bank of Ireland west, spoke of his pride in the continued sponsorship. Connacht’s successful season last year, and the hype that surrounded the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final against Toulon, were instrumental in determining the bank’s view.
Mayor of Galway, Michael Crowe took the opportunity to wish Eric Elwood well in his new role as Director of Coaching. He also urged the people of Galway to get out and support Connacht, a view that was echoed by Connacht Branch President, Jim Foy. This year marks the 125th season for Connacht and there is a lot of optimism that it will be a historic season. Connacht’s season gets underway this Saturday with the visit of the Newport Gwent Dragons to the Sportsground. Kick Off is 5.30pm and tickets can be purchased online via Ticketmaster, or in the Connacht Rugby office in the stadium.

Aidan O'Halloran, Tom Forde and Donal Flynn of Bank of Ireland with some of Connacht Rugby's new signings

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