Back in love with football, fit-again O’Hanlon raring to go with Ireland

The Man City starlet has battled back from various injury setbacks.

Republic of Ireland player Tara O'Hanlon is in line to earn her third cap in Saturday’s friendly against Hungary in Marbella. Pic:  Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

She was dubbed Katie McCabe’s heir but it didn’t help Tara O’Hanlon’s cause by stretching 862 days without starting a game.

Trouble brewed before Manchester City decided the 18-year-old Dubliner could blossom into a Women’s Super League player.

Renowned for her balance, grace and lethal deliveries from the left, all of those traits were placed in cold storage once the first of her hamstring issues began.

It wasn’t just one hamstring. And it wasn’t just hamstrings.

Anxiety at the proximity of her return date was validated when, invariably, a separate, new injury struck.

"My first injury was in August 2023 - was a grade 3C hamstring tear,” the now 20-year-old chronicles.

“That was a pretty bad one. And then, while rehabbing that, I had a setback where I reset the tendon tear two months into it.

"I had signed for City in January so the plan was to finish out my rehab, which was supposed to be six weeks. We got to the end of that and I was in a place where it wasn't getting any better, it was not improving.

"So then, we went to see a specialist who said I potentially needed an operation. Lo and behold, another week later, it had torn again. I had the operation in May 2024 and coming to the end of that rehab my left hamstring went.

“That was December and when almost fully back I blocked a shot in training. It was just a freak accident, my knee bent inwards and I tore my medial cruciate ligament.

"So that was in January 2025. I rehabbed that and only got back by the time the season ended. And then, I suffered a small calf tear in preseason, this summer, which I was back after a couple of weeks."

At 20, O’Hanlon’s endured more injuries than most player do throughout their careers.

City sent her on loan to join the Irish legion at Sunderland. Another milestone was her recall to the Ireland squad. She’s in line to earn her third cap in Saturday’s friendly against Hungary in Marbella, the last warm-up before Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers kick off against France in March.

It's been a long time since she made her international debut against the world’s top seeds, USA, in April 2023.

"I had a tough choice: to either give up or keep going and I was never going to give up,” O’Hanlon explains about the litany of setbacks.

"This loan to Sunderland definitely helped because I had lost my love for the game. That is not something I'd like to admit, but it is true. I had some really tough times and I kind of forgot why I love this sport.

"So, to be back, playing again I can fall in love with sport all over again. That is really nice.

“The last two years have been difficult but, to come out the other end of it, and get back playing for my country, is really exciting."

McCabe, whose 100th cap last month coincided with completing an aggregate victory over Belgium to be assured of a World Cup playoff, is a current Champions League holder.

“Katie has been a role model for all young footballers in Ireland regardless of position,” she said of the comparisons.

“She is an attack-minded full-back like me. I do look at her and try to learn as much as I can.

“I try to be my own player but there are definitely things I can learn from her. And I will be doing that as much as I can this week.”