2024 has been quite the journey for Mayo senior ladies football captain Saoirse Lally. From being named captain during the National League to a cardiac scare a month later, it's been a whirlwind.
The 22-year-old began the National League season as captain on 21 January with the understanding that the title would be rotated within the squad. To her surprise she has retained that title, permanently taking over from veteran Fiona McHale.
"It was a bit of the shock at the start of the year, but I am really enjoying it," , Lally told RTÉ Sport at an AIG event ahead of the championship.
"They (management) told me for the first game but then they said they were going to rotate for it for a few games, but they never rotated so that stayed with me".
The Westport club player made her senior intercounty debut during the 2020 National League. She has served as vice-captain for the last two seasons and describes herself as a quiet leader: "I wouldn’t be much of a talker I let the girls talk".
Lally does all of her talking on the field and is known as one of Mayo’s enforcers in the back line. She has been part of the Mayo senior team panel since 2019 when she joined the set up a 17-year-old, balancing both senior and minor inter-county duties. Her performances during the 2021 season earned her an All-Star nomination and the reputation of one of the best defenders in the game.
A month following her appointment as captain, the entire Mayo panel underwent cardiac screening provided by the Gaelic Players Association through the Advanced Medical Service (AMS). The results of the tests led to follow-up calls via AMS.
"I was getting calls from the Advanced Medical Service down in Cork, but I wasn't answering them because looking back I didn't link the two at all together," recalls Lally.
"I then finally answered it on Wednesday, and they said that something came up in the ECG that I got so they're going to send me for further testing".
"But that day I was still like 'Oh, the results of the tests are wrong like my heart is fine, I’d know if I had a heart issue’. But then the following day I got another call from a clinic in Dublin saying that they’d advise I should go for a heart procedure called cardiac ablation".
A diagnosis soon followed and Lally reached out to the GPA who provided the Mayo star with support.
"They found that my heart goes too fast, so not enough blood gets around my body. The condition is called pre-excitation syndrome.
"The Gaelic players association were brilliant; they gave me so much support and advice. They handled everything in the background.
"It was about three weeks later in the Beacon Hospital in Dublin that I had a cardiac ablation. So they basically just went up to my groin, burnt off my extra pathway that was making the heart go too quick.
"I stayed one night, got more ECG done the next day and they all went really well, thank God."
It wasn’t long before the UCD student recovered from her procedure and made her return to the Mayo set up, "It was basically bed rest for one or two weeks and then I was back in the gym, back training and everything.
"I was feeling a little bit dizzy at first, but management were great though. They gave me longer breaks between drills or I could step out whenever I needed.
"I missed one game against Waterford in the league, which was annoying, but it obviously could have been a lot worse so I wouldn't mind that. I was so relieved by it all in the end," she said.
Almost three months on she attributes the screening to saving her life and is determined to drive forward.
"Before the procedure I was telling the doctors ‘I have no symptoms at all I'm 100%'. But, since the procedure, I find it so much easier to catch my breath at training or I don't get out of breath as quickly in matches so that is a big difference.
"I feel like I can push a little further than now, which is great," Lally (above) added.
"It was a big shock initially for my friends and family as well. But yeah, a big relief. The screening basically saved my life."
2024 marks a fresh start for Mayo with a change in management, as the legendry Liam McHale takes the reins ,having stepped away from Kevin McStay’s backroom team last season. Head coach Kenneth Mortimer and former League of Ireland and Mayo goalkeeper Micheál Schlingermann joined McHale’s backroom team, to the delight of Lally.
"Between the two of them they have a good few all stars. They’re class. They know the team inside out, they know football inside out at this stage. Kenneth has a daughter on the team, Jenna."
She added: "He (McHale) wants us to play outside of our comfort zone, more risk reward kind of play so at the start it was nerve wracking but we’re really getting into it now. We’ve had a few weeks since the league to make a few tweaks to that so looking forward to putting it into practice now in the Connacht final."
