575 DAYS LATER, Aishling Moloney is set for battle in the Tipperary jersey once more.
Tomorrow against Westmeath is a Division 2 league opener, yet it has the feel of a championship game for the star forward.
She has played just once in the league since before Covid hit, while her last inter-county game was a championship defeat to Dublin on 5 June 2021. Moloney tore her ACL that day in Semple Stadium, a few short months after medial ligament damage in the same knee.
The two-time All-Ireland intermediate winner has spoken about her hellish comeback journey quite a lot over the past year or so, but never like this.
The burnout beforehand. The innate pressure. The newfound perspective and appreciation.
One of the country’s top ladies football stars, Moloney is a joy to watch in full flight. From a budding dual star in Cahir to lighting up Croke Park on All-Ireland day.
She’s an absolute character too; laidback, yet engaging and entertaining, philosophical at times. Just good company to be in.
She maps her return to a action — first out with a camogie club game in September (“Roughest match ever, thrown everywhere,” she laughs, “Stood up to it and thought ‘That’s that now, ACL psychology gone out the window, it’s been parked’”) — when she casually drops the fact that she got bitten by a spider, which delayed her football comeback in November.
“I was trying on a new pair of football boots, I dunno was that telling me not to return or what,” she laughs. “I went up on my tippy-toes, and Oh my good God, the pain was just rotten.”
She originally thought she had broken her baby toe. A bee sting was the next possible diagnosis, but the soreness was on another level. And then the rash appeared, right up her leg.
Facing Meath in the 2019 All-Ireland intermediate final. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
After a trip to Care Doc threw up septicemia fears, it was off to hospital, where tests confirmed cellulitis. “It was funny, someone passed me with a Tipp top on and said, ‘Jaysus Moloney, you’re not having a good run of it!’”
A false widow spider did the damage, which a course of medicine thankfully cleared up but she still has the mark — and photographs she willingly shares — to prove it. Shortly afterwards, she got her wisdom teeth out so those incidents combined wrote off the entire month.
It was December before she finally took those new football boots off the window sill and faced her fear in putting them on again.
“I think everything happens for a reason. I’d say the last 14 months have been the best of my life, just to get an opportunity to do things outside of sport, to grow to be a better person.”
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There were opportunities for solo travel. Dubai for a month. Island hopping in Greece. Portugal. Morocco. Her remote work with Gaelic Armour, which she now balances with full-time PE and Biology teaching in Comeragh College in Carrick-on-Suir, allowed that.
There was more time to be spent with family and friends.
Ultimately, “seeing things from a bigger picture and not being so tunnel-visioned,” as she puts it.
“For years it’s like you’re on a ship sailing, between county, college and club you don’t get a break. I’ve been stuck in sport since I was eight and never saw anything outside of sport.
“I was always laidback but I think I’m even more laidback now. Before, if there was an event on, I’d hold myself back. Now I’m like, ‘Let’s go. You’re allowed go, why don’t you go instead of cutting yourself off from everything?’ It’s just been enjoying opportunities more.”
Celebrating 2017 All-Ireland intermediate glory with her father. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
There were golden days for Tipperary, particularly in 2017. They enjoyed a remarkable year as unbeaten All-Ireland intermediate champions. 15 games, 15 wins, three titles. In 2019, they lifted the title again, after defeating now-all-conquering Meath.
Moloney was the star, herself and Aisling McCarthy a deadly double act. “I probably put pressure on myself,” the former admits now. “But I enjoyed the pressure at the time.”
On top of inter-county success, there was plenty more with club and college. All-Ireland intermediate club camogie glory in 2016 and an O’Connor Cup triumph with a star-studded DCU team in 2018 — Moloney the captain and late scoring hero.
She has a record at home of the amount of training sessions and games she played in a year when she was 14 or 15. Her parents asked her to do it at the time. 130 trainings, she estimates, 40 or 50 matches. Crazy stuff.
“When I did my ACL, it was nearly like, ‘Thank God, I can say no now.’ I knew myself I wasn’t enjoying it, but I couldn’t actually figure that out, because I needed to get out of it to actually look in.
“For months [beforehand], I was kind of trying to self-diagnose myself. I went to the sports psychologist with Tipp and she said it was burnout.
“And I’m not surprised because the amount of games that we played, the success, it’s just absolutely crazy the schedule that you have to play with. No one gets an opportunity to have a bit of time out and just chill out.”
She reckons the college and county clash period between January and March was “probably the burner for me personally,” being pulled in different directions.
The strain could have been even worse had she played more inter-county camogie, Tipperary football alone was enough. After the glory days came tougher times. Yo-yoing from senior to intermediate, falling down the league divisions, and as Moloney admits, always probably putting their hope in AFLW duo McCarthy and Orla O’Dwyer coming home.
In action against Cavan in the 2018 Division 2 league final. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
The ACL recovery period allowed plenty of time for proper reflection, up and down the road to Santry Sports Clinic.
She developed a different perspective on life, work and sport.
“I’m definitely way more clear-minded now, probably coming from the pressure I was putting on myself when and when we were just trying to be in that survival mechanism with Tipp.
“I made it my ambition that if I got back, I’d be going back for the right reasons. Just play football and come home again and leave it at the door.
“I was kind of afraid to come back into it, being like, ‘Is this still for me?’ Was it actually burnout, or did I actually just not enjoy it?’
“I’d say before Christmas, I was kind of iffy, but literally since Christmas Day was over, I just feel like it’s unbelievable. I’m all on routine, plan, eating, feeling good about yourself again. Even this match on Sunday, I’m just so excited for it. Whereas before, it would just be ticking the box.”
She can’t speak highly enough of the set-up Peter Creedon has in place and this “new era in Tipp”.
“No disrespect, but time has to move on and collectively the team has moved on and Peter has built a complete new ethos and atmosphere.
“It was amazing when I came back to see how players had prospered, as individuals, under Peter, never mind football. Parking that thing of people coming back from retirement or from Australia, that was probably the biggest thing we could have done as a team to move forward.”
“I hate being tagged as, ‘You’re the ACL-er.’ It’s over for me now,” she concludes.
“That has been parked back in September, and will never be thought about. In my head, I’ve done everything I possibly could have to get myself to be here now. If anything goes wrong, it’s bad luck.
“I remember even going down to my first two or three matches, Mam was crying, and I actually just gave out to her. I said, ‘You’re making me second-guess myself going out this door. You’re going to have to stop.’ ACL is so far in the past. It’s so far back there that I can’t even remember it.’”
575 days later, Aishling Moloney is ready to go again.
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'When I did my ACL, I was like, 'Thank God'' - Tipp star back after burnout, injury and spider bite
LAST UPDATE | 21 Jan 2023
575 DAYS LATER, Aishling Moloney is set for battle in the Tipperary jersey once more.
Tomorrow against Westmeath is a Division 2 league opener, yet it has the feel of a championship game for the star forward.
She has played just once in the league since before Covid hit, while her last inter-county game was a championship defeat to Dublin on 5 June 2021. Moloney tore her ACL that day in Semple Stadium, a few short months after medial ligament damage in the same knee.
The two-time All-Ireland intermediate winner has spoken about her hellish comeback journey quite a lot over the past year or so, but never like this.
The burnout beforehand. The innate pressure. The newfound perspective and appreciation.
One of the country’s top ladies football stars, Moloney is a joy to watch in full flight. From a budding dual star in Cahir to lighting up Croke Park on All-Ireland day.
She’s an absolute character too; laidback, yet engaging and entertaining, philosophical at times. Just good company to be in.
She maps her return to a action — first out with a camogie club game in September (“Roughest match ever, thrown everywhere,” she laughs, “Stood up to it and thought ‘That’s that now, ACL psychology gone out the window, it’s been parked’”) — when she casually drops the fact that she got bitten by a spider, which delayed her football comeback in November.
“I was trying on a new pair of football boots, I dunno was that telling me not to return or what,” she laughs. “I went up on my tippy-toes, and Oh my good God, the pain was just rotten.”
She originally thought she had broken her baby toe. A bee sting was the next possible diagnosis, but the soreness was on another level. And then the rash appeared, right up her leg.
After a trip to Care Doc threw up septicemia fears, it was off to hospital, where tests confirmed cellulitis. “It was funny, someone passed me with a Tipp top on and said, ‘Jaysus Moloney, you’re not having a good run of it!’”
A false widow spider did the damage, which a course of medicine thankfully cleared up but she still has the mark — and photographs she willingly shares — to prove it. Shortly afterwards, she got her wisdom teeth out so those incidents combined wrote off the entire month.
It was December before she finally took those new football boots off the window sill and faced her fear in putting them on again.
“I think everything happens for a reason. I’d say the last 14 months have been the best of my life, just to get an opportunity to do things outside of sport, to grow to be a better person.”
There were opportunities for solo travel. Dubai for a month. Island hopping in Greece. Portugal. Morocco. Her remote work with Gaelic Armour, which she now balances with full-time PE and Biology teaching in Comeragh College in Carrick-on-Suir, allowed that.
There was more time to be spent with family and friends.
Ultimately, “seeing things from a bigger picture and not being so tunnel-visioned,” as she puts it.
“For years it’s like you’re on a ship sailing, between county, college and club you don’t get a break. I’ve been stuck in sport since I was eight and never saw anything outside of sport.
“I was always laidback but I think I’m even more laidback now. Before, if there was an event on, I’d hold myself back. Now I’m like, ‘Let’s go. You’re allowed go, why don’t you go instead of cutting yourself off from everything?’ It’s just been enjoying opportunities more.”
There were golden days for Tipperary, particularly in 2017. They enjoyed a remarkable year as unbeaten All-Ireland intermediate champions. 15 games, 15 wins, three titles. In 2019, they lifted the title again, after defeating now-all-conquering Meath.
Moloney was the star, herself and Aisling McCarthy a deadly double act. “I probably put pressure on myself,” the former admits now. “But I enjoyed the pressure at the time.”
On top of inter-county success, there was plenty more with club and college. All-Ireland intermediate club camogie glory in 2016 and an O’Connor Cup triumph with a star-studded DCU team in 2018 — Moloney the captain and late scoring hero.
She has a record at home of the amount of training sessions and games she played in a year when she was 14 or 15. Her parents asked her to do it at the time. 130 trainings, she estimates, 40 or 50 matches. Crazy stuff.
“When I did my ACL, it was nearly like, ‘Thank God, I can say no now.’ I knew myself I wasn’t enjoying it, but I couldn’t actually figure that out, because I needed to get out of it to actually look in.
“For months [beforehand], I was kind of trying to self-diagnose myself. I went to the sports psychologist with Tipp and she said it was burnout.
“And I’m not surprised because the amount of games that we played, the success, it’s just absolutely crazy the schedule that you have to play with. No one gets an opportunity to have a bit of time out and just chill out.”
She reckons the college and county clash period between January and March was “probably the burner for me personally,” being pulled in different directions.
The strain could have been even worse had she played more inter-county camogie, Tipperary football alone was enough. After the glory days came tougher times. Yo-yoing from senior to intermediate, falling down the league divisions, and as Moloney admits, always probably putting their hope in AFLW duo McCarthy and Orla O’Dwyer coming home.
The ACL recovery period allowed plenty of time for proper reflection, up and down the road to Santry Sports Clinic.
She developed a different perspective on life, work and sport.
“I’m definitely way more clear-minded now, probably coming from the pressure I was putting on myself when and when we were just trying to be in that survival mechanism with Tipp.
“I made it my ambition that if I got back, I’d be going back for the right reasons. Just play football and come home again and leave it at the door.
“I was kind of afraid to come back into it, being like, ‘Is this still for me?’ Was it actually burnout, or did I actually just not enjoy it?’
“I’d say before Christmas, I was kind of iffy, but literally since Christmas Day was over, I just feel like it’s unbelievable. I’m all on routine, plan, eating, feeling good about yourself again. Even this match on Sunday, I’m just so excited for it. Whereas before, it would just be ticking the box.”
She can’t speak highly enough of the set-up Peter Creedon has in place and this “new era in Tipp”.
“No disrespect, but time has to move on and collectively the team has moved on and Peter has built a complete new ethos and atmosphere.
“It was amazing when I came back to see how players had prospered, as individuals, under Peter, never mind football. Parking that thing of people coming back from retirement or from Australia, that was probably the biggest thing we could have done as a team to move forward.”
That enjoyment is back. That energy. That spark.
The Moloney we all love to watch in battle.
One important note before finishing up.
“I hate being tagged as, ‘You’re the ACL-er.’ It’s over for me now,” she concludes.
“That has been parked back in September, and will never be thought about. In my head, I’ve done everything I possibly could have to get myself to be here now. If anything goes wrong, it’s bad luck.
“I remember even going down to my first two or three matches, Mam was crying, and I actually just gave out to her. I said, ‘You’re making me second-guess myself going out this door. You’re going to have to stop.’ ACL is so far in the past. It’s so far back there that I can’t even remember it.’”
575 days later, Aishling Moloney is ready to go again.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
aishling moloney Burnout Ladies Football Tipperary