Pa Carey makes a surprise return to the Limerick hurling team for Sunday's Munster championship clash against Cork at the Gaelic Grounds. Carey will line out at full back in what will be his first game in the green jersey in four years.
His brother Ciaran returns to his usual centre half back spot after injury. There are four changes in all from the side which lost to Waterford in the National League semi-final.
Declan Nash returns to left corner back while Mike Galligan figures on the left wing of attack.
There are also many positional switches; Mark Foley moves from centre back to left half back, Jack Foley from left corner back to midfield, T J Ryan from right corner forward to right half forward, Sean O'Neill from midfield to centre half forward and Barry Foley from left half forward to right corner forward.
Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy has settled for the same team that started against Waterford in the league final.
Former All Star Michael Phelan will lead the Kilkenny attack in the Leinster hurling championship tie against Dublin in Parnell Park on Sunday.
Phelan, who has not played a competitive game for the county since the All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway last August, has shaken off a hamstring injury picked up in a club game two weeks ago.
The 31-year-old Phelan will be flanked by D J Carey and Brian McEvoy, who was passed fit after a visit to former Dublin football manager Pat O'Neill for diagnosis of a leg injury.
Canice Brennan, brother of last year's manager Nickey Brennan, will start his first championship game at centre back for the county. Surprisingly, there is no place for Ken O'Shea, who scored 2-7 from play in a challenge game against Limerick three weeks ago, or Andy Comerford, one of Kilkenny's best players in last year's championship.
Defenders Tom Hickey and last year's minor Mick Kavanagh are making their senior championship debuts.
Louth introduce two newcomers to their full back line for Sunday's Leinster senior football championship tie against Wicklow in Drogheda. Team manager Paddy Clarke has called up Brian Phillips and Dave Brennan to flank Gareth O'Neill. In another positional switch John Donaldson switches to centre back.
Cathal O'Hanlon has recovered from a hamstring injury and fills the full forward berth. His brother Seamus has not been as fortunate and remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury.
Wicklow, despite some nagging injuries notably to goalkeeper Tommy Murphy, field the team which scored a superb win over Cork in last month's league match.
The best known of the Waterford footballers, Niall Geary, is a startling omission from the team to face Tipperary in the first round of the Munster senior championship in Clonmel on Saturday evening.
Geary, a Railway Cup player, had not made himself available for selection. He is based in Cork and is expected to line out with his club Nemo Rangers in the county championship at the weekend.
George Walsh is slotted into the centre half back position, Geary's normal position. Waterford have called up five players to make championship debuts - right corner back Andy Hubbard, full back Jason Crotty and forwards Liam Daniels, Colm Keane and Nick Curran.
In all there are 10 changes from the team that lost to the same opposition in Dungarvan last year, with only Michael Fenton, George Walsh, Don McMahon, Richie Power and Oliver Costello in the starting lineup this time round.
Three Sligo players make their Connacht championship debuts in the game against London in Ruislip on Sunday. Noel Maguire from the Easkey club and Drumcliffe/Rosses Point clubman Ronan Keane are named as right corner-back and right half-back respectively. Tubbercurry's Tommy Brennan, who impressed in Sligo's Connacht junior football championship final win over Roscommon last Sunday, comes in at right corner forward.
Meanwhile, Derry centre forward Gary Coleman is out of Sunday's Ulster senior football championship clash with Monaghan at Celtic Park. Coleman's hamstring injury has been slow to respond to treatment. But Seamus Downey, Eamonn Burns and Dermot Heaney are all available after missing the National League final against Offaly.
