Cora Staunton

Cora Staunton (born 13 December 1981) is an Irish sportswoman. She is best known as a Ladies Gaelic footballer, winning four All-Irelands and three Ladies' National Football League titles with Mayo. She has also been an All Star on eleven occasions. In addition to playing Gaelic football, Staunton has also played three other football codes at a senior level. In 2006, as an association footballer, she won an FAI Women's Cup winner's medal with the Mayo Ladies' League representative team. In 2013, she began playing rugby union for Castlebar Ladies in the Connacht Women's League and in 2018 made her debut in the Australian rules football AFLW competition for the Greater Western Sydney Giants. She has also played for the Ireland women's international rules football team. Staunton works as a HSE liaison officer, working with women from the Irish Travellers community.[1][2][3][4]

Cora Staunton
Staunton playing Australian rules football with Greater Western Sydney in February 2018
Personal information
Sport Ladies' Gaelic football
Position Forward
Born (1981-12-13) 13 December 1981
Height 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Occupation HSE Liaison Officer
Club(s)
Years Club
 Carnachon
Inter-county(ies)
Years County Apps (scores)
1995–2018
 Mayo 66 (59:476)
Inter-county titles
All-Irelands 4
All Stars 11

In 2018, Staunton released her autobiography called Game Changer, it was named as the 2018 Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year.[5]

Early life

Staunton was raised in Carnacon, County Mayo. Her father was a farmer and her mother worked in the catering department of a local hospital. She has four brothers and three sisters and is the second youngest amongst her siblings. In 1995, her mother, Mary, was diagnosed with cancer. She died on 11 July 1998 when Staunton was 16. [6][7][4]

Gaelic football

Staunton began playing Gaelic football at the age of seven in her local school in Carnacon. She later played with boys' teams in nearby Ballinrobe. Among her earliest team mates was Alan Dillon. Staunton made her debut for the Mayo senior ladies' football team in 1995 aged just 13. She made her first appearance in an All-Ireland final in 1999. However, she played just 90 seconds of the game because she had broken her collarbone in training a week before the final. The team elected to start her anyway, as a ceremonial gesture. She made her second All-Ireland appearance in 2000, scoring 2:2 as Mayo defeated Waterford. Staunton's third All-Ireland appearance in 2001 ended in disappointment after a mix-up over a last minute kick-out saw Mayo lose by a single point to Laois. However Staunton and Mayo then won two successive All-Irelands in 2002 and 2003. Staunton played in a sixth All-Ireland in 2007. Staunton has also won six All-Ireland Ladies Club Football Championships with her club, Carnacon.[1][7][4][8]

Association football

Staunton plays association football for Ballyglass Ladies in the Mayo Ladies League. As a youth she was invited to trials for the Republic of Ireland U–16s but she declined, preferring to concentrate on Gaelic football.[6] However, she continued to play association football at club level. In 2006, she was a member of the Mayo Ladies League representative team that won the FAI Women's Cup, defeating UCD 1–0 in the final at Richmond Park. Staunton was just one of several members of the Mayo Ladies League representative team who also played Ladies Gaelic football for Mayo. Others included Yvonne Byrne, Aoife Herbert, Michelle Ruane, Martha Carter, Triona McNicholas and Emma Mullin.[9][10][11] As a result of winning the 2006 FAI Women's Cup, the Mayo Ladies League qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland in the 2007–08 UEFA Women's Cup. The competition format saw the team travel to Austria in August 2007 to play in a mini-tournament to decide who would progress to the next round.[12] Unfortunately the UEFA Women's Cup tournament clashed with a 2007 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship quarter-final game against Monaghan. In the opening game of the tournament, Staunton scored for Mayo in a 4–1 defeat to Gol Częstochowa. However, she then returned to Ireland, along with Yvonne Byrne and Aoife Herbert, to line-up against Monaghan.[13][14][15] While playing with Ballyglass Ladies, Staunton also won the 2011 WFAI Intermediate Cup.[16]

International rules football

Staunton was a member of the Ireland women's international rules football team that played against Australia in the 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series. [17][18][19]

Rugby union

In September 2013 Staunton made her rugby union debut for Castlebar Ladies in a Connacht Women's League game against Tuam. She subsequently scored seven tries in a 68–15 win.[20] She also went onto captain Castlebar to the league title.[21]

Australian rules football
Cora Staunton
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-12-13) 13 December 1981
Original team(s) Greater Western Sydney
Debut Round 1, 2018, Greater Western Sydney
vs. Melbourne, at Casey Fields
Height 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Number 13
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018– Greater Western Sydney 21 (19)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2020 season.
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Staunton's decision to play Australian rules football came after a conversation with her compatriot Nick Walsh, an assistant coach at the Greater Western Sydney Giants.[22] She was drafted by the Giants in the 2017 AFL Women's draft and was the first international player to be signed to an AFL Women's list.[23][24]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season.[25]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFLW playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018 Greater Western Sydney 1375839185713140.71.15.62.68.11.92.00
2019 Greater Western Sydney 1376465319619240.90.69.34.413.72.73.46
2020 Greater Western Sydney 1378751126314121.11.07.31.79.02.01.7
Career 21 19 19 155 61 216 46 50 0.9 0.9 7.4 2.9 10.3 2.2 2.4

Honours

Gaelic football

Individual
  • Ladies' Gaelic football All Stars Awards
    • Winner: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017: 11

Mayo

Carnacon

Association football

Mayo

Ballyglass Ladies
  • WFAI Intermediate Cup
    • Winners: 2011: 1

Rugby union

Castlebar Ladies
  • Connacht Women's League
    • Winners: 2013: 1

References
  1. "Women in Sport: The Mayo And Footballing Legend – Cora Staunton". www.her.ie. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. "Cora Staunton (Mayo)". ladiesgaelic.ie. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. "Evergreen Cora Staunton commits to another year in the Mayo jersey". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  4. "Cora Staunton". livingforsport.skysports.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. "Cora Staunton autobiography named Irish Sports Book of the Year". The 42. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  6. "Fresher Staunton out to make final amends". www.independent.ie. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. "Cora Staunton still determined to break down barriers". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. "Cork v Mayo – TG4 All-Ireland LSFC Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  9. "Mayo ladies make glorious history". www.mayonews.ie. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  10. "Mayo Women's League History". inform.fai.ie. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  11. "UCD v Mayo League – Womens FAI Senior Cup Final Photos". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  12. "Mayo Women for Europe!". www.castlebar.ie. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  13. "Mayo Women's Soccer 2012". mayoladies.webs.com. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  14. "Women aim for glory". www.mayonews.ie. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  15. "Ladies ready to go". www.mayonews.ie. 7 August 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  16. "Ballyglass win FAI Umbro Women's Intermediate Cup". www.fai.ie. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  17. "Brave Aussie ladies like ewes to the slaughter in Ireland". www.worldfootynews.com. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  18. "Players Launch First Ever Ladies International Rules Test Series". ladiesgaelic.ie. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  19. "Ireland v Australia – Ladies International Rules Series 1st Test Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  20. "Cora Staunton makes rugby debut". www.mayonews.ie. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  21. "Cora's a dab hand at rugby too!". hoganstand.com. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  22. "Nick Walsh, defensive coach". Greater Western Sydney Giants. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  23. Cordy, Neil (18 October 2017). "Gaelic football legend Cora Staunton joins Greater Western Sydney's AFLW team". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  24. Cora Staunton: The greatest footballer playing in Australia that you've probably never heard of, ABC, 15 March 2018
  25. "Cora Staunton". Australian Football. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
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