Connacht have announced that club captain Gavin Duffy will be leaving at the end of the season.

The 32-year-old full-back is the most surprising name on the list of players that will be released in the summer.

Veteran out-half Dan Parks is also set to leave after a successful two-year stint in Galway, with scrum-halves Frank Murphy and Paul O'Donohue among the other players being let go.

Duffy was made joint captain at the start of the season alongside Michael Swift and John Muldoon but the emergence of Robbie Henshaw and Darragh Leader means that he will not be offered a new deal.

Swift has signed up for a 15th season at the Sportsground after he and flanker Mata Fifita both signed contract extensions with the IRFU.

36-year-old Swift has played in 16 Rabo Pro 12 matches and five Heineken Cup games this season which has convinced head coach Pat Lam that he is still capable of playing for at least another season.

The versatile Fifita has played both in the back-row and in the centre for Connacht since joining from AIL, side Sligo RFC in 2011.