During the summer of 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic still dominating lives, Hannah Looney experienced a moment of real pride at Aghada GAA club.
"I was living with my girlfriend at the time, we were living in Cork and there was nothing else to be doing only playing club football," the Cork dual player said at the launch of SuperValu’s ‘Wear with Pride’ Laces campaign.
"She had played football in Kildare previously and I invited her to play club football with me in Aghada and at first people were like, ‘Jees, who’s Hannah’s friend that’s coming along?’ and then the older generation were like ‘Oh, that’s Hannah’s girlfriend’ and telling their friends and family that Hannah’s girlfriend was down playing in Aghada GAA club.
"That was a really proud moment for me, that you could feel accepted with generations of people."
When Looney came out as gay in 2017, the first people she told were Cork teammates Aisling Thompson, Meabh Cahalane, and Orla Cronin.
10 September 2017; Hannah Looney of Cork celebrates with The O'Duffy Cup after the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final match between Cork and Kilkenny at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
"I suppose I was a bit nervous and a bit anxious," she said about the decision to tell her teammates.
"I've never been afraid of being myself but I suppose society has brought me up that there might be consequences and I guess I just had those internal fears more than anything.
"I didn’t bottle things up for too long. I’m a person who wears their heart on their sleeve so if there’s anything bothering me I do tend to speak about it. There is for some reason that nerves and that fear around it.
"The minute I was able to open up and get that off my shoulders it was a huge relief. For me, mental health is huge and I know the importance of [it].
"When my mental health is good, whatever I’m doing on the pitch or in the dressing room is going to be improved by 10 - 20 per cent if not more. I was conscious of that as well by bringing my best self and getting that off my shoulders I was able to be a better teammate and better support for my players.
"Coming out for me was a joy. I think the girls were first concerned, they were like, 'Oh Jesus, what has Hannah done again?' And it was more a relief that it was only a coming out story and there were giggles and laughs and support and nothing ever changed for me.
"I'm so grateful that playing GAA has always been an environment for me where I can be myself. I had a great time in school, but I think school can be an environment where people can't express themselves. But for me, always in sport, I was able to do that. I'm just grateful."
Looney says that being "part of the LGBTQ+ community is something I'm very proud of".
"I'm very conscious we need to be role models to younger people in our clubs and elite level," she continues.
"So I'm just very proud to be a part of it and I'm delighted that SuperValu are on board again pushing that message of diversity and inclusion because in Ireland at the moment there seems to be a lot of far right movements creeping in and that can be a bit scary and daunting.
"The only way to fight back on these movements is by spreading messages like this and educating people that Ireland needs to be a place for all. That's something I really want to promote."
See Also: Why David Gough Didn't Feel Fully Part Of The GAA Before 2019
