‘It's been a privilege' – Emotional Hannah Tyrrell reflects on Dublin LGFA career before All-Ireland final swansong
The final training session is over and regardless of the result in today's All-Ireland final against Meath, she will wave goodbye to inter-county
football
.
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Pictured is Dublin Footballer and Former Irish Rugby International Hannah Tyrrell ahead of the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Kansas State University & Iowa State University this August
Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
4
She will play her final game for Dublin in the All-Ireland final against Meath
Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
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Tyrrell, right, also played for Ireland in rugby
Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
The Na Fianna
star
has come a long way since her Dubs debut in 2013.
Previously an
But she said farewell to rugby in 2021 and her long-waited
reality
.
Tyrrell helped the Jackies win the 2023 All-Ireland and capped it with a star performance in their final win over
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She turns 35
next
week and still leads the charge as the
Sky
Blues chase their seventh Brendan Martin Cup.
Tyrrell's
But at the start of the campaign, she knew this was it.
Very few get the fairytale ending, and what will be will be against the Royals at
Croke Park
.
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Tyrrell told SunSport: 'Yeah, I'm trying not to think about it to be honest, and I don't know if I will.
'Like, obviously it'll be, you know . . . the last training session, regardless of the outcome of the match, will be a difficult one after so long.
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'But it's also a really enjoyable one. You know, my last involvement could have been that kick of a ball against Galway in normal time. I think maybe just the training session, 'You know? That's my last training session', particularly with someone like Sinéad Goldrick, who I've played with from Under-14 all the way up. So we've known each other for 20 years or so.
'That'll be just that for me, walking away from that, but there's so many new opportunities out there.
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'Like I said, I'm lucky enough to have gotten to wear this Dublin
jersey
for so long. And it's been such a privilege.
'I got an opportunity to play with Dublin for another couple of weeks and get to play in the best stadium in the world, in my
opinion
, for my last-ever game — which is amazing.'
Dublin's season came with an air of unfinished
business
.
MICK IN THE TEETH
Mick Bohan left as boss after their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Galway last
summer
.
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The Clontarf man spent eight years in charge during a glittering second stint in the hotseat which saw them win five All-Ireland titles and four in a row from 2017 to 2020. Paul Casey and Derek Murray took over as joint-managers and have led them straight back to the biggest day — and Tyrrell admits hurt is always a silent motivator, personally and for the squad.
She said: 'I think there's hunger in the camp every year — it's the reason why we come back and want to play.
'But after last year I think it was more the manner of the defeat to Galway, and how we were very disappointed in how we performed, it kind of brought a lot of us back, we didn't want it to end on that.
'I'm just enjoying the process and the moment. I decided on it last year that this was a definite, and why not go again and really enjoy my football this year?
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'I think there's multiple factors that go with that. I think fitness-wise and physically, I'm in a really good place this year.
'I probably didn't feel up to my best last year and just hit some new heights in the training ground. And there's a good atmosphere in the team and training and all the rest that just feels really
nice
and I'm really enjoying it.
'I think I'm playing pretty well. I'm just happy it's all working out but we have nothing won yet and there's one more big game to go.'
4
Hannah Tyrrell of St Patrick's CYFC during the FAI Womens Amateur Shield Final in 2023
Credit: Tom Beary/Sportsfile
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Tyrrell is all about today, but will soon think ahead to tomorrow.
Unless there is a replay, her inter-county door will close tonight and a new chapter will begin with her wife Sorcha and their daughter Aoife.
Sport will always be there but it is time to give back to her
family
as a new adventure begins.
She added: 'Of course, there are obviously things I'll be able to do when football is over and I'm a lot less restricted. I'll be able to go off on
holidays
and enjoy my free time with my family. And they're the ones who have kind of given up and sacrificed to allow me to go off and play football. So it's just about being able to spend time with them and enjoy the other things that life has to offer.
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'I'll go off and play a bit of social sports somewhere else and, you know, just enjoy time with friends and make some memories off the pitch.
'I'm one of the lucky few, though. Lots and lots of people would love to play for Dublin, let alone get to play in a couple of All-Ireland finals with them. So I'm very privileged.
'And that's why I
work
so hard to try and produce it on the field and bring a bit of joy back to this beautiful county.'
l DUBLIN footballer and ex-Ireland rugby International Hannah Tyrrell was speaking ahead of the 2025 Aer Lingus
College Football
Classic between Kansas State
University
and Iowa State University, which will take place on August 23 at the
Aviva
Stadium. There are limited
tickets
available at www.
ticketmaster
.ie/collegefootball.
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