Aisling O'Neill: Study and sport complementary, not a clash

When Aisling O'Neill was making a splash for Dublin in her breakthrough campaign back in 2022, the Castleknock tyro was navigating that attention, from public and opposition defenders, heading into her Leaving Cert year.

Clearly, O’Neill handled all that with aplomb, supported by her parents, but also her mentors and teachers.

As she became a go-to player at the age of 17, providing a real scoring threat to help alleviate some of the pressure on Aisling Maher and earning an All-Star nomination, she also knocked it out of the park in her exams.

That got her into Trinity College Dublin, and she is currently in her second year studying medicine. Suffice to say, you need top tier results to make the cut in that area.

Work and ability combined have helped her flourish in both sectors of her busy life, but it hasn’t all been straightforward. After helping Dublin win Division 1B of the Very League last year, O’Neill’s participation in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship, which saw the Dubs go one better than the quarter-final appearance of her debut campaign, was almost wiped out completely by injury.

"First round of the championship, I tore my hamstring, which was obviously not ideal timing," she recalls. "You’ve just gotten ready to go. That had me out till the All-Ireland quarter-final when I came on.

"There’ s nothing like a game, so it was nerve-wracking coming on not having played but it’s also so exciting. You’re coming on in an All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park. You let that push you on. It was a great day."

O'Neill's class shone through in the 19 minutes plus injury time that she got on the pitch in the momentous defeat of Kilkenny.

With the teams level coming down the stretch, Dublin scored the last four points to