Dublin camogie player Emma O'Byrne has been "blown away" by the public reaction since she opened up about her diagnosis with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The 26-year-old spoke candidly about the illness in the press and through her own social media platforms earlier this year.
The hormonal condition affects how her ovaries function. Among the symptoms are irregular, painful and heavy periods, weight fluctuation, loss of energy, and extreme fatigue. A series of ruptured cysts in 2023 forced O'Byrne to sit out the season.
Ahead of the Dubs' Centra Camogie Leagues Division 1B final against Clare this Sunday, O'Byrne reflected on the feedback that's come her way over the last few weeks.
"I'm absolutely blown away by the positivity that I've received," she said. "Not that I was expecting many negative comments or anything, but it's really encouraging to see young girls who are playing the sport text me and message me who are also going through the same thing.
"If I can just help one person, that's my main goal. But yeah, it's been hugely positive and I'm really grateful to be able to share that as well.
"Normalising the conversation around women's health like this is really important. I think we as players have a real opportunity to voice our experience and if other players could do that as well, it would only benefit the sport and benefit the whole conversation around female health.
"It's very male-dominated in camogie, we do have a lot of male coaches, so it's good to normalise those conversations and try to be on the same page and try to help them understand as well."
"Our set-up in general is just really professional."
O'Byrne is prepping for a big battle with the Banner as the Dubs look to get back to Division 1A for the 2027 campaign. The teams played out a rollicking draw in February, Lorna McNamara's late score for Clare earning them a share of the spoils. Now they meet again with a piece of silver on the line.
Manager Bill McCormack has made no secret about league glory being the target. The standards are high in the capital, and expectations are lofty.
"Ideally at the start of the year we would have been hoping for a 1B title," O'Dwyer said. "I suppose we're on the right path and we kind of improved at the right time. I know we lost against Down, which was a tough loss, but I think we managed to regroup and reset and use momentum then for the rest of the league.
"Our set-up in general is just really professional. We have such a mix of experience there. It's really, really professional and absolutely no complaints from the panel. We're just looking to kick on now and use that wealth of experience and bring it forward."
As for the challenge Clare will pose, O'Byrne is expecting a scrap.
"Clare bring huge physicality," she added. "We always expect a tough challenge with Clare, so we're expecting exactly that. We were lucky enough to play them in the first round of the league, so I suppose we'll be bringing that experience now to the final.
"We obviously would have hoped to win that, but in hindsight, I think we can use that in our preparation for the final now. We've seen where we went wrong and we're expecting a good fight. I think it's positive that we came across them early. We're all really looking forward to it, to be honest."
