Clare's Aisling Reidy balancing risk with reward

Aisling Reidy used to be a lifeguard on a couple of Clare's busiest beaches and today she works in insurance and risk.

The Banner midfielder, who is taking a break from inter-county duty for the early stages of the Lidl National League campaign, is working with Deloitte in Limerick.

She studies Business at University of Limerick and for her eight-month placement during third year, she was never likely to stray too far from the numbers game.

"Risk and insurance is my major and my minor then is finance," says Reidy.

"I was going between that and accounting but then I said I would switch it up and go with the risk and insurance and see how I got on.

"I like numbers. I have to. My brain is wired for learning. Creative stuff, not really, but learning I can do."

The 21-year-old St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield midfielder was destined for the sporting route, having such a strong foundation from an early age.

Her parents urged Aisling and her sisters Niamh and Ciara to get involved with swimming and that training and routine gave them an ideal footing. There were sacrifices but the rewards are plain to see.

"I am just giving myself a bit of a refresher."

"I had swam all my life," said Reidy. "As soon as we were able to walk, our mother threw us into the swimming classes. I always swam and I swam competitively then for a few years, nothing of a very high standard now, just the galas and all that.

"It definitely taught me so much discipline. You train four or five times a week with a few early mornings. We would have had to be on the deck for 6.15am. So I would have been getting up at 5.30am or 5.40am.

"Getting up before school, you would be tired and then going in and doing a full day of school and you could have training or something in the