Emma O'Byrne is a Dublin senior camogie player of long standing, eight years on from her introduction to the life as an elite sportsperson by David Herity.
Through inconsistency of player and management retention, O’Byrne has been an almost ever-present, playing in a couple of All-Ireland semi-finals, winning league titles and earning an All-Star nomination.
Sometimes though, her health battles have meant she could not be on the pitch.
The 26-year-old from Drimnagh – she will be 27 in December - revealed her experiences with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on national radio and in an inspiring post on Instagram during the week.
It came from the release last week of GPA-sponsored research on the health experiences of female inter-county players by student researcher, Sarah Doran.
The study revealed that more than half of the 480 respondents from last year’s camogie and ladies football squads had received no education on the menstrual cycle. More than a quarter had experienced amenorrhea (loss of menstruation). Nearly 85% reported no access to a medical doctor. Only 19% had reported a female health issue to a member of the backroom team.
Society is still getting its head around high performance female sport, so the study and education is at an early stage. But getting past the overtly heightened sensibilities of Irish people when it comes to bodily functions would a good start.
One of O'Byrne’s teammates, Aisling Maher is co-chair of the GPA, while another, Sinéad Wylde, works for the players’ representative body. It was Wylde who approached her dressing room colleague to see if she might be willing to tell her story.
So she gave a glimpse of the hormonal condition that affects how her ovaries function. That insight was enough to leave one incredulous at how she is operating at such an elite level. Among the symptoms of this incurable condition are irregular and extremely painful and heavy periods, weight fluctuation, loss of energy and extreme fatigue. Cysts are constantly growing that can burst at any time and the pain can be unbearable.
It was a series of ruptured cysts that forced her to miss out in 2023. Having to watch from the sidelines in the year that she was named vice-captain, exacerbated her struggles with mental health. The hormonal imbalance that comes with PCOS can heighten anxiety and depression. Acne is another symptom that impacted on O’Byrne’s reduced sense of self-worth and the weight fluctuations aggravated that further.
That focus on body image led to her not eating sufficiently, especially given the strength and fuel she needed to be an inter-county player.
She will deal with it for the rest of her life but the St Vincent's totem is in a far better place now, physically and mentally, with good nutrition and support from mentors proving critical.
Meanwhile, the reaction to her post has been mind-blowingly positive.
"It’s been great," O’Byrne reveals. "I got loads of messages off younger girls and that was the reason why I was doing this, to get it out to those younger girls or any other women, to just show the reality of it, and share my experience a bit.
"Because it was something that I experienced, I was hoping for positivity, but obviously, social media, you could receive negative comments. I suppose I was kind of scared at first to share it, but I do think, in the bigger picture, if one woman could take something from it and get help from it, that would be really important.
"Most camogie teams in the country and female sports in general, have predominantly male coaches. So to normalise a conversation, so that we can talk about these issues with our male counterparts, is very important I think.
"With my PCOS, I get a mix of symptoms. Some days, I’m just feeling so fatigued, and I know that I have that relationship with my strength and conditioning, for example, so that I can monitor my wellness. We have an app where we log our wellness, and we can log our cycle if we want.
"Management and coaches are then very proactive, so that they can say, 'Look, you’re fatigued here, maybe we can drop your load a bit.’ I think it’s really important that we do have that relationship with the people who are in charge. We all have one goal at the end of day so it’s really important to have that connection with the coaches and the other members of the backroom team."
Her diagnosis came as an 18-year-old and the ovarian cysts have been the most severe symptoms.
"They can rupture, causing sudden, sharp pain, and it’s really unpredictable and really hard to train through. And there’s no trend or pattern that I notice before it. It’s just something I have to manage.
"In January 2023, I had a series of cyst ruptures, and it wasn’t like an ACL injury, or like you’ve pulled your hammer where you can actually rehab it. It just like it required me to rest. When I tried to train through it, it was really hard. I took for granted all I could do as an athlete. Even walking was very challenging.
"When you’re used to training and competing at that high level, stepping away is a blow. I was named vice-captain as well. It was the first time I’ve ever been in a leadership role, and I was just, so frustrated, because I wouldn’t be the most vocal, but I tend to just kind of lead on the pitch. So when that’s taken away from you as well, you just feel that sense of kind of imposter syndrome. I have nothing to offer to the team, because I’m not playing. A lot of your identity is tied to being a player."
Body image is a serious problem for young women of course, bombarded with photos of an unreal, contrived aesthetic. The acne and weight fluctuations had O’Byrne battling constantly with this issue. It is an ongoing battle.
"Body image is definitely a big, big struggle I’ve had, and probably still have, and I think most girls would agree. My PCOS can affect my body composition. You do naturally compare yourself to others. It’s really hard as a as a girl, not to compare yourself to others. And so I suppose, over the years I’ve I was almost like, subconsciously, under-eating constantly, and I was trying to be lighter and it was the total wrong thing to do, because I was comparing myself to people who don’t even play sport. My values were way off.
"And because I wasn’t eating enough, it would definitely make me feel weak, and that actually worsens and exacerbates all of the symptoms that I have, and just throws your hormones way off. That’s definitely the biggest learning I’ve had over the years."
But with acceptance and knowledge comes potential for growth. O’Byrne came back from her year out to take up a new position at full-back and earn an All-Star nomination, as the Dubs beat Kilkenny at Croke Park to reach the last four of the All-Ireland championship. A healthier diet, and the advice and support in particular of Dublin’s nutritionist, Laura Kealy of Bridge Nutrition, has changed her life.
"She definitely helped me really hone in on that performance piece, where I’m actually fuelling my body to be an athlete, not to look a certain way."
Eating and sleeping have become key tools while regular ultrasounds and blood tests are just part of her routine to keep on top of things from a medical perspective. To call it a challenge is a serious understatement but O’Byrne is in a good place right now.
Her artistic leanings go beyond camogie, to her profession as a graphic designer and her musical yen for playing the guitar and piano. It all creates a very nice balance.
Tomorrow though, is all about Offaly and a must-win tie in the phenomenally competitive Division 1B of the Centra League, where four points – a win and a draw – separate top from bottom.
Bill McCormack’s crew are on four points, having beaten Wexford and drawn with Clare but lost to Down in between. Offaly defeated the Mourne girls so O’Byrne is under no illusions about the test the Sky Blues will face at Abbotstown (2pm).
"At the start of the year, if we looked at our goals, we really wanted to go after that 1B title again. So I suppose we’re under pressure to get those two next games in the bag. We know the threat that Offaly offer but we’re lookingg forward to that challenge. It’s sort of nice to know you must win. You must win all the games, but especially when you have two left, there is no other option.
"We have a deadly background team, and we have all the supports we need, so it’s just on us to kick on now, and we really need to focus on that whole consistency piece. We do transition a lot as a team. We have different players all the time, but I think they’ve really focused on making it a core group for the future, you know? And so, it’s been really positive, really great set-up."
