Cora Staunton knows a thing or two about finals, but Saturday will be the first time she has skin in the game for the Mayo men’s decider when she will be on the sideline as part of the Ballina Stephenites management team.
Staunton, one of the most decorated footballers in the history of the women’s game, is a coach and selector with the Ballina men’s side who are aiming to retain the Paddy Moclair Cup when they face Knockmore in MacHale Park at 7pm on Saturday.
Stephenites’ manager Niall Heffernan called Staunton last Christmas and floated the idea of her working with the defending Mayo champions. It was immediately appealing, though she knew stepping into that world would not be an insignificant move.
“I thought about it for a while, but I’d known Niall from when he was involved with Mayo [women’s team] and knew he was a good guy,” says Staunton.
“Then I met the other guys, they were very welcoming and receptive, we were all on the same page. It was clear they had a lot of talent in the team as well so it was a no-brainer really.”
They operate as essentially a five-person selection team – Heffernan, Staunton, Fred Queenan, Paul Barrett, and player-selector David Clarke.
It is not Staunton’s first foray into coaching as she was involved with the Galway camogie team in 2023 when they won the Division One League title. However, that was more as a general performance coach while this is the 11-time All Star’s first real hands-on role.
“The first few sessions you’d be a bit nervous but the guys were brilliant,” she recalls.
Staunton – who also led the way for Irish women to forge careers in Aussie Rules – works a lot with the Ballina forwards, but it is not an exclusive assignment.
They won last year’s Mayo final 0-6 to 0-4. Aside from a low-scoring quarter-final against Castlebar Mitchels this season, Ballina have been posting decent tallies – 2-10 v Westport, 3-14 v Balla, 0-20 v Mayo Gaels and 1-18 v Ballaghaderreen.
It seems her coaching approach is not unlike her playing approach.
“I looked at the reasons why last year’s county final might have been so low scoring. I could see immediately they were getting off plenty of shots, it was just execution and stuff like that.
“We have a good motto now that they have no fear of shooting. I said that to Niall before I went in, if there are going to be restrictions around guys not able to shoot from certain distances or that, then I don’t want to be involved. He said absolutely not.”
Staunton also laced up her boots again for Carnacon this year and helped them progress to the county semi-final. They lost to Knockmore but she still scored 0-5.
As for watching games from the sidelines, Staunton admits that remains a work in progress.
“The lads would probably say I’m a little bit out of control,” she smiles. “I’m nearly out on the sideline playing, I wouldn’t be the calmest.
“We were radioed up on mics and the lads were just, ‘Oh my God’. By the end I was saying, ‘Lads, just don’t give me a radio any more!’
“I really enjoy it. You’d be nervous but you try to keep calm because you need to be able to make rational decisions, substitutions at the right time and tactically moving things around. I love it, they are a great group.”
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