I started playing hockey when I was 13 years of age with my club Catholic Institute. I played a lot of hurling and football before then so I was always playing some form of sport. I was very lucky to
progress from underage Munster and national teams to get my first Senior International Cap in
2012 in a home match against Wales. It was a very proud day for my family and I and it made me hungry to want more.

I have been very lucky in my career to date to have represented Ireland in European Tournaments, World Leagues, a World Cup and finally the pinnacle of our sport, the Olympic Games. I was selected to represent Ireland in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and I will never forget the feeling of elation I felt when the squad was announced. Sport is tough and alike most athletes I have experienced times of non-selection and injury, the culmination of everything made this moment even more special.

The Olympic Games itself was an incredible experience and my fondest memories begin before we even got on the plane. We had an Olympic Day in Dublin where we got a full suitcase of Olympic Kit before heading out to Tokyo. This started to make the experience feel a little more real. Tokyo was a
different type of Olympics with no spectators due to covid so my family, friends and club teammates
gave me a surprise send off which was incredible.

We had a brilliant week in our holding camp in Iwate before travelling to Tokyo and arriving to the Olympic Village for the first time. The village was incredible, there were apartment blocks everywhere covered with flags from different countries, the Olympic Rings, shops, and the huge food hall where
you could get any type of food at any time ofthe day. Some of my favourite memories of the Olympic Games include our first time stepping on to the Olympic Hockey Pitch and realising that we were now at the games!

We had gotten here and now we were extremely excited to get started. I recall singing our National Anthem before our first match and remember that once the whistle had gone we had become
Olympians. It was both a very special moment, one that I will always remember. We won our first match and again it was just magical. We were the first Women’s Hockey team to represent Ireland in the Olympic Games and we were ecstatic to do so. It was an experience of a lifetime and I am extremely grateful to family, friends and coaches whosupported me to get to the Olympic Games.

In 2018 after tearing my cruciate and needing surgery I never imagined myself representing Ireland in the Olympic Games, so my advice to anyone reading this is to set your goals high, work
incredibly hard and even when you think nobody else will - Back Yourself! Go raibh maith agaibh,