Galway face into Leinster campaign of rare importance

After last year, the Galway hurlers now have 15 Leinster championships under their belt.

In their early years in the province, the Leinster title may have been merely a means to an end. Their participation simply an effort to put a coherent shape on their season, bringing them in line with the rest of the Liam MacCarthy contenders.

Feelings might have evolved since then though.

The spectre of Limerick looming over the entire championship has added a greater urgency to the Leinster championship for the competing counties.

As a result, Galway, an interloper in the province in historical terms, may now be seeing the Bob O'Keeffe in a newly shimmering light.

Perhaps their best chance at silverware. Recent agonising defeats have sharpened this sentiment.

The visible devastation in the seconds after last year's provincial decider was the strongest evidence yet that Galway are now fully emotionally invested in the Leinster SHC.

Back in the autumn of 2008, in the same week that the country guaranteed the banks and the late Sean Fitzpatrick was telling the also late Marian Finucane that he couldn't apologise "with any degree of sincerity", Galway and Antrim were welcomed into the Leinster hurling championship.

'Welcomed' might be pushing it. Most of the counties impacted opposed their entry, including very nearly Galway themselves.

Offaly were opposed. Wexford voted against the idea "overwhelmingly".

The Dublin county board also rejected Galway's arrival, though in a telling indication of their thinking, they had no problem with Antrim coming into the fold.

GAA President Nickey Brennan, pursuing the plan with the fervour of a legacy project, branded the dissenting Leinster counties "selfish".

At a fraught Galway county board meeting, nearly