Painting Cora Staunton in a bad light is wrong

FOR the past week, the Mayo ladies senior football team has been in the headlines for the worst reasons.

No one likes to see problems within any team, especially when they are currently involved in an All-Ireland series.

As is widely known, a total of 12 players and two selectors withdrew from the county senior set-up last week. For the players, the reason behind the decision was welfare issues.

When it comes down to welfare issues, this is a matter for the Mayo Ladies County Board and management as it is a very serious problem. This needs a full investigation by those in charge and I am sure will be addressed fully by all concerned.

However, where I have a big issue in this saga is the treatment that our greatest ladies Gaelic footballer of all time, Cora Staunton, has received.

From the minute the news broke regarding the issues within the county senior team and management, Staunton was immediately installed on social media as the one player at the root of the problem. This, I can assure you, is not the case - and what has been said about this player over the past week is nothing short of madness.

For the past 20 years Staunton has brought honour and glory to both her county and club (Carnacon). She is generally regarded as the greatest ladies Gaelic footballer of all time. There is little doubt that only for Cora Staunton’s exploits on the field of play the county would not have had anything near the success they have enjoyed.

When the problems first came to light as eight of the Carnacon club members withdrew from the county panel, all attention turned on Staunton and the total blame was on her. This was wrong, and very wrong, as this was a club decision and not one made by an individual player.

This was not something Staunton wanted to happen. She is in the twilight of her footballing career and certainly has to prove nothing to anyone. When she returned home from Australia, the Mayo ladies senior team had qualified for the National League final. However, she made it loud and clear that she was not going to return to the Mayo panel until the league final was over as she felt that those who got Mayo to the decider should be the players who played in the final. It was only after the league final that she returned to the county senior panel and played the full game in the Connaught final against Galway.

Now she is being branded as the player at the centre of all the current problems. Yet, while seven other players from her club have withdrawn from the Mayo senior panel, there are another four players from other clubs, including team captain Sarah Tierney, who have decided to step away. This, along with two selectors who also pulled away from the management, makes one think that something is not right within the county set-up. But the onus is on the Mayo Ladies County Board to sort this out and get to the bottom of the matter.

But those who are throwing the blame on Cora Staunton for this mess have very short memories and have another agenda in blaming our greatest ever player.