Cork's 10-time All-Ireland winner Valerie Mulcahy has announced her retirement from inter-county football.
In addition to starting all of the Rebelettes' Brendan Martin Cup wins, the 33-year-old forward won 10 Munster championships and nine Division 1 league titles.
She scored seven points as Cork beat Dublin to win their fifth All-Ireland title in a row last September.
“I have decided to retire after a great career,” Mulcahy told Marty Morrissey in an interview on RTÉ's Nationwide.
“I have thought long and hard about it, my gut feeling is that I have achieved what I wanted to achieve out of the sport. I am quite content leaving the sport now.
“When I was in it, it was all consuming, so I am going to try and enjoy other aspects of my life now and look at the girls from the stand.”
Big congrats to legend that is Valerie Mulcahy who confirmed her retirement. A great player who did it all @CorkLGFA pic.twitter.com/pZxzqP5lrD
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) April 11, 2016
Former Cork manager Eamon Ryan said that Mulcahy made the “difficult things look quite simple”.
“I would put her up there with Maurice Fitzgerald, Diarmuid Connolly and Mikey Sheehy,” he said. “She was that calibre of forward. She made difficult things look quite simple, nothing fazed her.
“While the rest of us would probably have been at times quite ate up before big games, Valerie loved the big occasion and consequently, performed to her best because she was never beset by worries or insecurities on the big day.”
A PE teacher in Gaelcoláiste Mhuire in Cork city, Mulcahy is an executive member of the Women’s Gaelic Players’ Association (WGPA), and has been instrumental in the association’s progression in its first year in operation.
Her time now will be spent promoting the WGPA’s efforts and improving player welfare for both inter-county ladies footballers and camogie players.
She will also continue to play junior football with her club Rockbán, train the Gaelcholáiste Mhuire ladies football team, and spend time with her wife, Meg Blyth, whom she married last summer.
Chairperson of the WGPA Aoife Lane paid tribute to her achievements.
“Valerie has left an incredible legacy as a ladies footballer, but her value extends way beyond the pitch. From a WGPA perspective, she led our movement right from the outset and stepped forward as a supporter of a players’ voice.
Congrats on an outstanding career @valeriemulcahy took game to a new level!! Time now for ya to get an oval ball into ur hands 😜😜🏉 #iconic
— Niamh Briggs (@niamhbriggs15) April 11, 2016
“Her own journey showed us that a player is also a person who faces challenges like any other and who sometimes needs help in their day-to-day life. This helped to vindicate our support line and also our focus on the personal and professional development of WGPA members.
“Valerie is a fantastic role model for young people and will be a brilliant ambassador for us as we move more into this space with organisations like Headstrong.
"Personally, a highlight of the WGPA has been getting to know Val and the other five players who have led the way for camogie and ladies football. She is great company, great fun and is always her own person, and the WGPA and I will be backing her in all that lies ahead."
