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Mayo ladies football legend Cora Staunton doesn\u2019t expect to play for the county again.<\/p>\nMayo ladies football legend Cora Staunton doesn\u2019t expect to play for the county again.<\/p>\n
The All-Star forward was among 12 players to walk out of the Mayo camp this summer, in a dispute with manager Peter Leahy’s methods that still rumbles on.<\/p>\n
And Staunton, who has played with the county for 24 years, can\u2019t see a way back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I can\u2019t see myself playing for Mayo again,\u201d she said on last night’s Late Late Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m blessed. I\u2019ve played for Mayo for 24 years. There\u2019s not many people can say they played for their county that long.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year when you get older, I\u2019m 36, you have to take every year as it comes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say I\u2019d love to be playing for Mayo in two years\u2019 time, because my body mightn\u2019t be able.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d probably made the decision before I went back this year that this was going to be my last year in any event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staunton explained again why the players, including eight from her club Carnacon, left the Mayo setup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main reason I walked out was because of the treatment of my friends and my teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t stand by and watch that. It\u2019s an amateur sport and we can walk away from it an any time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t happy with the environment we were in and we decided, you know what… I\u2019ve always said to myself, when I\u2019m not enjoying<\/p>\n
something, when my body isn\u2019t able to do it any more, I\u2019m not going to play any more. And I decided in early June to walk away from Mayo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t an easy decision. I\u2019ve played for Mayo the last 24 years. It was a very difficult decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why the rest of the Mayo panel were happy with Leahy\u2019s management, Staunton said:<\/p>\n
“The environment can be good for some people and it mightn\u2019t be so good for other people. But it\u2019s really not my story to tell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s 12 players and two members of management who walked away. While it was hugely disappointing, and it\u2019s got massive media attention the last number of months, it\u2019s been a difficult couple of months.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve come out the other side of it. I\u2019m focused on my county final Sunday with Carnacon and my journey back to Australia in a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n