Dublin take on Mayo yet again in another decider but, this time, there will be no Cora Staunton.
The Mayo legend – nay, the football legend – has returned from her stint in the Southern Hemisphere playing Aussie Rules professionally but, as her county gears up for a shot of the league title at Parnell Park on Sunday, Cora Staunton hasn’t even been contacted.
New manager Peter Leahy spoke with Aonghus Ó MaicÃn of the Western People and revealed that he and the best player in Ireland haven’t spoken.
On The GAA Hour, Colm Parkinson was apoplectic about the idea that the full forward wouldn’t be given the grace of being kept in the loop, never mind being called upon.
“He’s done a really good job with them, getting them to a league final – and this is without Cora Staunton. But I found his quotes about Cora Staunton very unusual,” Wooly said.
“He says he hasn’t spoken to Cora Staunton – she’s home in Ireland for two weeks now. This is the greatest ladies footballer of all time, this is without doubt. She’s played for Mayo since she was 13. She waited around [last year] to finish the Mayo season and then waited around for her club before she went on a brilliant opportunity in Australia. She’s absolutely committed to Mayo, to football, to her club.
“I just found it bizarre that the Mayo manager hasn’t contacted her since she’s gotten home. I understand he’s not going to contact her and bring her into a squad that’s worked really hard to get to a league final but surely you touch base with a player like that, of her brilliance and her experience.
“Just go to her and say, ‘Cora, how’s it going? Just checking in with you there, wondering what your plans are. It would be weird to bring you before the league final but we want you on board’. A nice, friendly conversation. I’m sure Cora’s at home, two weeks now, after all she’s done in the game and she’s going, ‘I haven’t even gotten a phone call’.”
Of course, this could all just be a media front.
It seems strange that you wouldn’t lift the phone to talk to a player who has given two decades to her county. Maybe Leahy did, maybe Staunton is on board and all this is just a disguise.
“But I think he embarrasses himself,” Parkinson said.
“I don’t see why he would put that out there and show that he’s a poor man-manager, in my opinion.
“Here’s the part that really got my back up:
‘The reality is that the panel is open to anyone who wants to play for Mayo and she’s one of the best players in the country. We have an emphasis in place: it’s about the team.
‘It’s not about the individual. Cora is a big name, but if she comes in, she’ll be coming in as a team player.’
“Is he implying that she’s not a team player? Is he implying that she doesn’t throw the ball around, that too much goes through her, that she’s too big of a personality.
“This should be a private conversation. It’s Cora Staunton. Have a little bit of respect for her.”
Listen to the full debate below from 11:58.
