This summer is guaranteed to be a busy one for Hannah Tyrrell and not just because of her quest to win her first All-Ireland title with Dublin.
In June, the former Ireland rugby international and her wife will be welcoming a new arrival with all the joys and challenges that brings for a parent.
And while the 32-year-old is in good form and remains intent on carrying on a Gaelic football career that was resurrected two years ago after the end of her rugby stint, she admits that changing circumstances could lead her to consider her future in the sport after this year.
"Obviously it's a big summer on the football front but for me on the family front as well. My wife is due towards the end of June so a really exciting time and there are other things going on in my life but really, really excited for it," Tyrrell said at Wednesday's announcement of AIG’s extension as Insurance Partner to the LGFA.
"I'm not thinking of it any time soon at this stage of the season but when it comes to the close of the season and my circumstances will have changed, will I have a think about retiring? Yeah, probably.
"It definitely crossed my mind but I think I can’t make that judgement now. One, we haven’t had a new arrival yet so I don’t know what life will be like then and what commitment that will end up taking but also, like I’m feeling pretty good in my body right now, feeling confident that I’m still contributing to the team and feel like I’m a valued member and I’ll assess where I’m at and where my body’s at and whether I have the ability to give 100% because I’ve always said that I’m very happy to keep going once I can give 100% commitment.
"And if it’s ever any less than that, maybe that’s the time for me to stop because I’m a player that if I’m in, I’m all in and I don’t think it’s fair if I’m not all in on the rest of the team.
"So that will be something that I’ll make a judgement on, see where I’m at, talk to my wife at the end of season."
Tyrrell admitted that hanging up the boots might be an easier decision if an All-Ireland winner's medal were in the bag, although she added that would not necessarily spell the time to draw the curtain down given she still enjoys the rigours of football.
"I have a dream and I have a goal and I've always been very ambitious and I will do anything to get that All-Ireland and for me it's worth it," she said.
"I have many more years ahead of me where I can sit in front of the fire and can have drinks with my friends and there's only a certain amount of time when you can play elite level football.
"(An All-Ireland is) obviously something that I've been chasing for a while now and coming in off the back of a team that won four-in-a-row and then losing an All-Ireland final and not getting back there since has been pretty tough but it’s part of my reasons for why I keep going."
Tyrrell's time in the Dublin has coincided with a period in which the county has gone from four-in-a-row winners - the most recent triumph coming in 2020 - to being caught by rival teams, most notably Sunday's Leinster final opponents Meath who have overtaken them to claim the last two All-Ireland titles.
Sunday's provincial decider will be the third meeting of the year between the Dubs and a Meath side that share what she considers to be a "healthy" and necessary rivalry.
Dublin got the better of the Royals in the league opener back in January, with Tyrrell scoring three points before she weighed in with a crucial goal to earn a narrow win in their Leinster round-robin match-up.
Meath are under new management with Davy Nelson having succeeded two-time All-Ireland winner Eamonn Murray but from the experience of the two matches this year, Tyrrell feels they will be quite similar to the all-conquering side of the last couple of seasons.
"They are playing a very similar kind of style of football that they have previously and it's worked for them and it's what's made them successful so I can see why they've kept it that way. All their players know those roles," she said.
"I suppose similar to ourselves, they've had a couple of players they've lost due to travelling or injuries or a couple of new youngsters coming through so they're probably going through a bit of a transition phase, maybe not quite the same as us but they're still a fantastic outfit and that doesn't mean they're any less of a team because they'll still come out firing and they've shown they have players who can do an awful lot of damage."
The All-Ireland campaign will follow on the heels of Leinster, win or lose, but in the meantime the build-up to the summer has seen growing talk about the pace at which a proposed integration of the LGFA, GAA and Camogie Associations is happening.
Gaelic Players Association (GPA) chairperson Brian MacCraith recently admitted that there had been some frustration about how slowly the process was moving along.
Tyrrell is keen on integration coming to pass between the three bodies but feels that what is of utmost importance is that it's done correctly.
"There's a bit of both sides of the coin on that one. Obviously I want integration to happen and I would love for it to happen sooner rather than later," she said.
"But I would rather they really thought this through and took it in certain steps to be able to make it work so it's all done properly for every aspect there.
"Because the last thing you want is for integration to happen really quickly and then realise they made a little bit of a mess of it and it's not exactly working out for everybody the way we would have liked.
"It's a brilliant idea and I do think we'll get there. I just would rather we do it properly the first time rather than having to rehash it out."
But beyond the excitement of a new arrival in June, she's not looking ahead to much else beyond Sunday's Leinster final.
"Right now my focus is the Leinster final and the last couple of weeks has been the Leinster Championship and we'll deal with the All-Ireland series and who we end up in a group with after next weekend and go from there but I’m not taking my eye off next weekend’s game."
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