Cora Staunton (born 13 December 1981) is an Irish

sportswoman The participation of women and girls in sports, physical fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, and stage of econ ...

. She is best known as a

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

er, winning four All-Irelands and three

Ladies' National Football League The Ladies' National Football League is an annual inter-county ladies' Gaelic football tournament, secondary to the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. It is competed for annually by the county teams of Ireland. National League rol ...

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 football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

er, she won an FAI Women's Cup winner's medal with the Mayo Ladies' League representative team. In 2013, she began playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

for Castlebar Ladies in the Connacht Women's League. In she 2018 made her Australian rules football debut in the

AFLW AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, ...

competition for the Greater Western Sydney Giants, establishing herself by 2022 as one of the league's all-time great goalkickers. 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 Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

community. In 2018, Staunton released her autobiography called ''Game Changer''; it was named as the 2018 Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year.

Early life

Staunton was raised in Carnacon,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

. 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.

Gaelic football

Staunton began playing

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

at the age of seven in her local school in Carnacon. She later played with boys' teams in nearby

Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786. History Foundation and development Ballinrobe is c ...

. Among her earliest team mates was Alan Dillon. Staunton made her debut at senior level for the Mayo county ladies' football team in 1995 aged just 13. She made her first appearance in an All-Ireland final in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

. 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 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, scoring 2:2 as Mayo defeated

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. Staunton's third All-Ireland appearance in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

ended in disappointment after a mix-up over a last minute kick-out saw Mayo lose by a single point to

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 ...

. However Staunton and Mayo then won two successive All-Irelands in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

. Staunton played in a sixth All-Ireland in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. Staunton has also won six All-Ireland Ladies Club Football Championships with her club, Carnacon.

Association football

Staunton plays

for Ballyglass Ladies in the

Mayo Ladies League The Mayo Women's Football League is a women's association football league featuring teams from County Mayo. It is the sister league of the Mayo Association Football League. It has previously been known as the Mayo Ladies League. The league is a ...

. As a youth she was invited to trials for the Republic of Ireland U–16s but she declined, preferring to concentrate on Gaelic football. 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 Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer pa ...

. 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. As a result of winning the 2006 FAI Women's Cup, the Mayo Ladies League qualified to represent the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in the

2007–08 UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Cup 2007–08 was the seventh edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football (soccer), football club tournament (since rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League). 45 teams from 44 football associations took part this season. The ...

. The competition format saw the team travel to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in August 2007 to play in a mini-tournament to decide who would progress to the next round. Unfortunately the UEFA Women's Cup tournament clashed with a 2007 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship quarter-final game against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...

. In the opening game of the tournament, Staunton scored for Mayo in a 4–1 defeat to

Gol Częstochowa ISD-AJD Gol Częstochowa is a Polish women's football club from Częstochowa. Initial seasons The team played in the highest league in 2004-05 but didn't qualify for the then new founded Ekstraliga Kobiet. Though in the next season the second di ...

. However, she then returned to Ireland, along with Yvonne Byrne and Aoife Herbert, to line-up against Monaghan. While playing with Ballyglass Ladies, Staunton also won the 2011 WFAI Intermediate Cup.

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 The 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series was the first and, as of 2019, the only ladies' International rules football series played between Ireland and Australia. The series was played at the same time as the men's 2006 International Rules ...

Rugby union

In September 2013 Staunton made her

debut for Castlebar Ladies in a Connacht Women's League game against Tuam. She subsequently scored seven tries in a 68–15 win. She also went onto captain Castlebar to the league title.

Australian rules football

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. 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 AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, ...

list. In 2018 Staunton returned to Ireland to play for Mayo county during which time she was selected in the Ireland Banshees squad for the Euro Cup 9-a-side Australian rules tournament at Cork. On 28 August 2022, she scored a hat-trick in Greater Western Sydney's defeat to Western Bulldogs, a tally that included her 50th goal in the sport, with only Darcy Vescio ahead of her.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season.'' , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2018 , , 13 , , 7 , , 5 , , 8 , , 39 , , 18 , , 57 , , 13 , , 14 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 5.6 , , 2.6 , , 8.1 , , 1.9 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - , scope="row" text-align:center ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , 13 , , 7 , , 6 , , 4 , , 65 , , 31 , , 96 , , 19 , , 24 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 9.3 , , 4.4 , , 13.7 , , 2.7 , , 3.4 , , 6 , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, , 13 , , 7 , , 8 , , 7 , , 51 , , 12 , , 63 , , 14 , , 12 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 7.3 , , 1.7 , , 9.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.7 , , 6 , - , scope="row" text-align:center ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , 13 , , 9 , , 10 , , style="background:#CAE1FF" , 10^† , , 64 , , 29 , , 93 , , 18 , , 18 , , 1.1 , , bgcolor=FA8072 , 1.1^§ , , 7.1 , , 3.2 , , 10.3 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

, , 13 , , 10 , , 18 , , 9 , , 50 , , 25 , , 75 , , 19 , , 17 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 5.0 , , 2.5 , , 7.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.7 , , , - style="background-color:#EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , S7 (2022) , , 13 , , 10 , , 8 , , 5 , , 38 , , 33 , , 71 , , 13 , , 21 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 3.8 , , 3.3 , , 7.1 , , 1.3 , , 2.1 , , , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3 , Career ! 50 ! 55 ! 43 ! 307 ! 148 ! 455 ! 96 ! 106 ! 1.1 ! 0.9 ! 6.1 ! 3.0 ! 9.1 ! 1.9 ! 2.1 !

Honours

Gaelic football

Individual

Ladies' Gaelic football All Stars Awards The Ladies' Gaelic Football All Stars Awards have been hosted annually by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association since 1980. The All Stars are sponsored by TG4. O'Neills have also helped sponsor the awards. All Stars are awarded to the best Lad ...

**''Winner'': 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017: 11

Mayo

* All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship **''Winner'':

: 4 **''Runners-up'':

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

: 3 *

**''Winners'': 2000, 2004, 2007: 3 **''Runners-up'': 2016

Carnacon

* All-Ireland Ladies Club Football Championship **''Winner'': 2002, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017: 6 **''Runners-up'': 2006, 2010, 2012: 3

Association football

Mayo

* FAI Women's Cup **''Winner'': 2006: 1

Ballyglass Ladies

* WFAI Intermediate Cup **''Winners'': 2011: 1

Rugby union

Castlebar Ladies

* Connacht Women's League **''Winners'': 2013: 1

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Staunton, Cora 1981 births Living people Association footballers from County Mayo Greater Western Sydney Giants (AFLW) players Health Service Executive people Ireland women's international rules football team players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Irish female players of Australian rules football Irish female rugby union players Ladies' Gaelic footballers who switched code Mayo inter-county ladies' footballers Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Winners of four All-Ireland medals (ladies' football) Women's association footballers not categorized by position