Hannah Tyrrell is still undecided about lining out with the Dublin ladies footballers next year.
Tyrrell was the star player for Dublin in this year's All-Ireland final victory over Kerry, scoring eight points in the first half as her side built an unassailable lead.
The win earned the former Ireland rugby international her first All-Ireland senior medal. It was a day made even sweeter by having her then seven-week-old daughter Aoife on the pitch with her after the game.
"I obviously haven't ruled it out," Tyrrell, the Gaelic Writers' Association Ladies Football Personality of the Year, in association with EirGrid, said about playing next year, "there are a number of factors for me at play as to whether I play on for another year or not. It's hugely tempting to walk away on the high that I had this year. But I also feel that maybe there's something more to give.
"I'm going to give it a few more months, spend time with the family. Logistically with a young baby at home I need to see if I can make it work."
9 November 2023; Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin with her EirGrid GWA Ladies Football Personality of the Year Award in Drumcondra, Dublin Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Tyrrell's wife Sorcha gave birth to Aoife at the beginning of this year's All-Ireland championship.
"Trying to adjust to that new lifestyle and having this new focal point in your life while also trying to put in a major push to win an All-Ireland was obviously something I'd never experienced before and was very stressful and tiring at times," said Tyrrell.
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"But it was all worth it and to be able to bring her onto the pitch and create those memories with her, which obviously she doesn't remember now, but to be able to look back on in years to come will be amazing.
"Not many people get to go onto Croke Park so for her to get onto the pitch so young was brilliant. It would be great if 20 years down the line if she was able to pull on a Dublin jersey and be able to play in Croke Park.
"I have a very good friend on the Kerry team, Louise Galvin, and she would have had her little boy with her too. It was obviously a little bit different for her being on the losing side but we got to share a nice moment on the pitch together and chatted with each other and our families.
"They're just the special things that you remember as you grow older. They're just nice memories of the bonds that you make."
13 August 2023; Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin and her daugher Aoife, age 7 weeks, and Kerry player Louise Galvin with her son Florian Walsh, age 16 months, after the 2023 TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Tyrrell joined the Dublin panel in 2021 after retiring from international rugby. She felt the pain of an All-Ireland final defeat to Meath in 2021 and being eliminated at the quarter-final stage last year.
The 33-year-old said this year's win feels "extra-special" as it was unexpected.
"At the start of the season we weren't really in great shape to be honest," she said.
"We had a lot of newcomers coming in and we lost a lot of experience. As we went through the league we maybe thought we wouldn't achieve what we wanted to. We still wanted to win the All-Ireland but we didn't really maybe think it was possible this year.
"So, definitely, as things started to really kick throughout the summer and then when we put in that performance against Kerry in the final, it was hugely satisfying, very sweet.
"For other people we didn't think too much or care too much about what they thought or whether we were favourites or not. Kerry were obviously favourites coming in and were obviously the form team. In fairness to them, they had been phenomenal all year.
13 August 2023; Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin scores a point despite the efforts of Emma Costello of Kerry during the 2023 TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by John Sheridan/Sportsfile
"But, for us, the satisfying bit was more that we changed our own narrative. We didn't believe too much at the start but we put the hard work in and never gave up and we succeeded in the end.
"We had two new corner-backs starting that All-Ireland Final who had just turned 19 and they have huge Dublin careers ahead of them. A lot of these young girls got a taste for winning and that sticks. It makes you want it even more.
"Look, nothing is guaranteed in sport and I think over the last number of years, particularly in the ladies game, it has shown to be wide open again. Dublin will obviously be up there next year but there's no guarantees that we'll win it."
Tyrrell is taking her time with that decision about her future as she wants to make sure she "can give 100 per cent to team but, also, is it the right option for me at this time in my life?"
"When you play football we all know that there are sacrifices to make in other areas of your life," she added.
"And that can be really tough at times, particularly on your family. So there are various factors there. I'm an all in kind of gal, so if I can't give 100 per cent it's not fair on my teammates."
