Labhair RTÉ.ie/Gaeilge le Tara O'Hanlon, a bheidh le feiceáil in Pass It On: Sacar na mBan, faoi na dúshlán, na híobairtí agus a brionglóid, ainneoin droch-ghortaithe, bheith ina peileadóir proifisiúnta.
In March 2023, Tara O'Hanlon's professional soccer career was going very well. Peamount United, where she played as an attack-minded left back, had played and won the four opening games of the season. They had their eyes on their third Women's Premier Division title in five years. B'ionspráid di é bheith ag imirt nuair a thosaigh sí in Peamount le leithéidí Karen Duggan, Áine O'Gorman, agus Steph Roche. Thugadar an féin-mhuinín di go raibh sí ábalta imirt ar ard-chaighdeán.
"Cosúil le héinne óg bhí an tuarim agam gur mhaith liom bheith im imreoir proifisiúnta. Rith sé liom ag aois 15 nó 16 agus mé ag imirt le Peamount Seniors gur rud é go bhféadfainn a dhéanamh."
Then came the text from Vera Pauw. Already playing with the national team at Under-19 level, O'Hanlon was added to the senior squad. She won her first cap in April 2023 against the USA. Another huge step in the right direction.
Bhíodh sí ag dul ar champaí traenáile as baile go minic leis an bhfoireann náisiúnta. Bhí struss ag baint leis sin mar go raibh sí imníoch fén obair scoile, ach bhí an scoil an-tacaíoch di. Chabhraigh siad léi an obair acadúil cuí a chlúdach. Bhí a tuismitheoirí á brú leis.
"It was my parents that had to push me and help me understand that I do need the backing of the Leaving Cert, especially for a female footballer. There's no promise of a future in the game."
Injury
Tháinig cuireadh ó Manchester United, a imríonn sa Women's Super League (WSL) dul i mbun triallach cúig lae i Mí Lúnasa. Bhí rudaí ag dul i bhfeabhas go tapaidh agus d'éirigh go maith léi ann. Go dtí an lá deireannach.
"I tore my hamstring. I was sprinting and I heard a big massive 'POP’. I thought I had been shot in the back of the leg. All the other girls were looking at me. It was clear they'd heard it too. I hobbled over to the side of the pitch and sat down. I was thinking 'oh hopefully it’s just a pull, it’ll be fine, I’ll try and get up, try and move’. But I couldn’t even lift my leg off the ground. I tore it pretty bad." Is ar éigin go raibh sé fós ceangailte leis an gcnámh. Ar mheas sí go bhféadfadh sé deireadh a chur lena brionglóid?
"I'm not thinking career-ending but I am definitely hit with a flood of emotions." Chuir sí ceist i ndiaidh ceiste ar lucht physio. "I just kept asking them questions. ‘How long would I be unable to play, what did they think I had done, was it a pull or a tear?’ My mind was going a million miles an hour. As soon as I lay down on the physio bed and got the ice on my hamstring, the emotion really started to kick in. I started to realise, it wasn’t going to be good." Thuig sí ansin nach mbeadh sí ag imirt le Peamount go ceann i bhfad.
"I wasn’t going to be finishing my season with Peamount."
Tháinig na mothúcháin go tréan. Ghlaoigh sí ar a Dheaid. Bhí sé dian ortha beirt, eisean i mBleá Cliath, sise i Sasana. "I think it really broke his heart when he heard how upset I was. He managed to calm me down a bit. But, yeah, it was a lot of emotions hitting me at the one time and I had never experienced anything like that. I hadn’t, touch wood, had any serious injuries before then so I’d never experienced what it’s like to think ‘Damn. I’m gonna be out. A while.’
Gortú
"I can't really remember, to be honest. I think I blanked out a lot of how I was feeling then because it was so overwhelming."
Léirigh na torthaí ní hamháin gur tharraing sí teannán na hioscaide ach go raibh sé réabtha 7 cm, gortú Grád 3-C. Tugadh comhairle di gur idir 12 agus 16 seachtain a thógfadh sé bheith slán arís. Bhí sí ar mhaidí ar feadh trí seachtaine sular thosaigh an athshlánaithe sa chlinic spóirt i Seantrabh. Chabhraigh an fhoireann lena athshlánaithe fisiciúil ach chomh maith lena athshlánaithe meabhair.
"Mentally, there was so much going on in my life between school, personal life, and football. So to get that injury, especially having such a good season with Peamount - and to hear that, well, I’m not going to be back for any games. That saw a lot of guilt setting in. I had gone on trial, got injured, and now I was afraid my team was going to suffer for it. I felt quite guilty for that."
"That first three weeks was probably the hardest part because all you can really do is sit with your thoughts. To try to process all of that was really hard for me."
"Thankfully I had a really great support group around me. My friends, family got me through it, even Peamount, especially. I would still go up to trainings on crutches and just kind of sit there and be around the girls and the girls would help get me through it. But it was pretty tough."
Faoi seo, Aibreáin 2024, tá sí fós amuigh ach gan ach cúpla seachtain fágtha sula mbeidh sí i mbun traenála arís. Bhuaigh Peamount United Roinn Príomhdha na mBan SSE an Deireadh Fómhar sin. Bhí sé dian ar O'Hanlon nach raibh sí ar an bpáirc leo don ócáid. Ach mar a deir sí féin, "international debut, leaving cert, Women's Super League trials, winning the League, grade 3 hamstring tear, all in the one year."
The Future
Tara O'Hanlon signed for Manchester City in February 2024, her agent securing, as part of the negotiation, a fee for the team she still cares about deeply, Peamount United. Not a common occurrence for Women's Premier Division clubs, I'm told. (Her Man City number, 26, she chose in keeping with her first cap squad number for Ireland.) With an eye on the future, she's aiming for a Ballon D'or. And why not? That humility, coupled with her work-ethic, determination to succeed and clear talent explain why an elite WSL club like Manchester City would want sign her. Ana-sheans go bhfeicfear léinte uimhir 26 'O'Hanlon' á chaitheamh ag daltaí scoile amach anseo.
Pass It On: Sacar na mBan léirithe ag Mind the Gap Films
Eagrán 1 Dé Luain 8 Aibreáin ar RTÉ One ag 8i.n.
