Mum of the Year Finalists Hannah Tyrrell and Sorcha Turnbull
Sports stars and happily married couple Hannah Tyrrell and Sorcha Turnbull are turning their focus towards motherhood.
Sorcha and Hannah
When Hannah Tyrrell added All Ireland Senior GAA medal to her collection recently, it signified a long-held dream for the impressive, multi-talented athlete. Hannah had already won FAI Cup and Irish Rugby Six Nations titles, but the sweetest trophy had eluded her. It had not eluded her wife, Sorcha, however. The former Dublin goalkeeper won the title in 2010. A fact that had become a bit of a craic between the two women who tied the knot in August 2021. “I’ve been very open about wanting to win the Senior All Ireland and that’s been a big goal for me, so it's a bit of a relief to get over the line,” Hannah says. “But having Sorcha and Aoife there and all my family… words can’t do it justice.”
Hannah is used to making headlines for her sporting prowess. However, she was perhaps more unprepared for the noise that followed after she was photographed holding her seven-week-old baby daughter on the pitch as she celebrated the win. Many commenters on social media seemed dumbfounded as to how Hannah could be back playing elite sport just seven weeks after giving birth. However, it had been Hannah’s wife Sorcha who had given birth. “People's first thoughts were I’m a female. I’m holding the baby. I must have given birth,” she says. “Both me and Sorcha had a good laugh about these comments. I joked I’m a medical miracle for getting back on the pitch after seven weeks.”
While the comments were fuelled by old stereotypes and jumping to conclusions, Hannah and Sorcha know that Ireland has come a long way in the last few years. “Society is changing,” says Hannah. “We tend to brush comments like that off.” A truly united pair in every way, they’ve made headlines for their sporting achievements, but also for being so open and visible as a same sex couple at the highest level. “I’m very content and I’m very much Aoife’s mother, as much as Sorcha is,” says Hannah. “I couldn’t care less what people think in regards to that. I’m on the birth cert and that’s all that matters.
Still, it was an incredible moment for Hannah and Sorcha, one they hope Aoife will always remember even if she was only a baby. “A lot of people would give their right arm to get onto the pitch at Croke Park and she at seven weeks of age was able to do that,” smiles Hannah. With both her parents having won All Irelands, what would they think of their daughter getting into elite sports too? “Look, we'd love for her to follow in our footsteps and go on and play for Dublin, but whatever she goes on to do and whatever path she goes on we will both support her.”
While Hannah has performed at the top level of sport for many years, she’s been very vocal in speaking out about her own struggles with her mental health. She credits sport with helping her through and would hope that other young girls can see the benefit in it too. “I was always sports mad it was the one thing that got me through,” explains Hannah. “Every night of the week I was playing something, I did have my own struggles and days where I didn’t want to go out and train, but that’s where being part of a team is so great. Other people are relying on you to turn up and work hard and I felt like I had an obligation to do that and I’m so glad I did.”
Hannah’s talked openly about struggling with an eating disorder, negative thoughts and self-harm, however, she never envisioned it would help so many others. “It was scary opening up about it. When I was struggling it was right through my teenage years and as the years went by, I kept it to myself because of the stigma or backlash that might surround mental health and that made things worse for me,” she recalls. “I didn’t intend to speak out about it, I just sort of overcame it myself and was getting on with life. People were asking me about my background, and I opened up. Then somebody got back to me and said they were inspired to talk to someone about how they were struggling and that kind of gave me that confidence to speak out more.”
So what does the future hold for the family? With so many on field achievements fulfilled, it looks as though motherhood is the next big adventure for both women. “I’ve been so sport mad, it’s taken over a huge portion of my life,” explains Hannah, “but now I want to be there for my daughter as much as possible. Sport has allowed me to create these memories and make her proud, but I don’t want to miss anything at home either.” Finding that balance is where her and Sorcha’s main focus is right now. “It’s weird. It’s hard to describe becoming a mother, there’s this draw to want to be there and be better and I’m still coming to terms with that to be honest,” she laughs. While both herself and Sorcha are still in the early days of motherhood, they both agree that Aoife has been very kind to them. “She’s very placid and sleeps really well,” Hannah says. “She doesn’t make strange with anyone. It’s been easier than I thought, but not easy for sure.” WW
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