Hannah Tyrrell: It’s been a phenomenal couple of months

Hannah Tyrrell has been a revelation for Dublin on her return to intercounty action - now she is preparing for this Sunday's TG4 All-Ireland SFC final against Meath in Croke Park (4.15).

Tyrrell, then a Round Tower Clondalkin player, lined out for the Jackies in the 2013 and 2014 (when she played in goals) seasons before switching codes to international rugby in '14.

Firstly in the Sevens game and then in the 15-a-side game Hannah was a big success in rugby but this year she has returned to Gaelic games, now a Na Fianna player, and it has been Dublin's gain especially with the retirement of Noelle Healy and the injury suffered by Nicole Owens.

“I always was planning on coming back to Gaelic football," says Hannah.

“I was thinking about asking Mick (Bohan) if I wasn’t too old would he still have me, but I didn’t know if that would happen or if that was a possibility.

"But look, it was a very positive thing for me. I had a free summer, Mick had a spot in the squad for me and I was happy to join in.

"It’s been a phenomenal couple of months and I’m kind of sad that it’s coming to an end.

“I trained every day in a high performance environment (during her time playing rugby) for about six years. I do think that helped. You look back on the wins and losses with them and it does help you deal with the bad days and get over it, so yes it did help in terms of the transition.

“And when I rejoined Dublin, there were definitely some challenging days when things just didn’t go right for me, but overall it’s been a very positive experience.

“I actually enjoyed the first couple of weeks particularly because it was so fresh and new to me and it was something I used to love playing.” adds Hannah.

Looking ahead to Sunday's encounter against a Meath team that shocked Cork after extra-time in their semi-final she says: “Meath have had an excellent year and they have played some really good football, but we are trying to focus on ourselves and getting prepared for Meath so that we are ready for everything they throw at us.”