Fionnuala Carr – Respect for phenomenal female players

Briege Corkery wins her 10th Allstar award

The All Stars have taken over the papers for the past two weeks with the Camogie, Hurling, GAA and Ladies events all taking place. Most people debate over who should and shouldn’t receive an award and few people ever agree on the one team.

One of the main talking points prior to the football announcement was whether Diarmuid Connolly would pick us his second award, being picked on an All Star team is a huge honour but in the midst of wondering whether or not Diarmuid would get his second Kate Kelly was going for her 9th award and Briege Corkery was going for her 10th.

We all know that Ladies doesn’t get the same coverage as the men but instead of talking about a footballer getting his 2nd award surely it is a bigger news story that a player is receiving their 9th and 10th?

Sometimes the media focuses on one issue and makes a story out of it, focusing on something that could be controversial in the hope of generating interest and sales.

Kate Kelly and Briege Corkery are once-in-a-generation players. To receive that many awards is a phenomenal achievement and is a testament to the players themselves.

Consistently standing out among your peers and being awarded for excellence isn’t down to simply being talented, its so much more than that.

Complete dedication, discipline and determination to succeed as well as showing the leadership skills to continually put yourself on a pedestal for your teammates is what these two players have in abundance.

I am fortunate enough to know Kate and I can also say that she is modest and humble to go along with it.

There are also so many more players for clubs and counties across Ireland that have the same qualities but don’t get a chance to showcase them at the top level because of where they are from.

Just look at Gary Brennan from Clare or Michael Quinlivan of Tipperary, two players who were recognised for their excellence with a nomination and an award for Michael but they have been doing this consistently for Clare and Tipperary for years.

Sometimes I feel that the media don’t do these type of players justice, they don’t sell their story in the same way they would if they were from Dublin, Kilkenny or Kerry.

Briege Corkery has a medal haul that by far surpasses any Kilkenny hurler or Dublin footballer but she doesn’t court the media to promote herself in the same way as others and is forgotten about as a result.

These good news stories don’t come around too often and we should take advantage of them when they do, sell their story and offer them the same respect as someone who is going for their second all-star.