New year brings return of glorious disease called Hope for GAA players

Every January leaves GAA men and women diseased with hope that this year will be their year. 

In this new dawn, the rawness of defeat can begin to be purged by those who have come up short and who now go again in search of glory.

Club dressing rooms are filling up with players and officials who are pulled back into an endeavour that will define much of the coming year. Some are pained at the prospect of the slog that awaits but just cannot bring themselves to stay away; others simply love it all — they love the training, love the travelling, love the matches.