Steve Staunton's GAA exploits: 'What a Gaelic footballer he would have been!'

Steve Staunton is best known for his exploits on the soccer field.

The Dundalk native played in three World Cups with Ireland and for almost 20 years as a professional in England.

His talents also extended to Gaelic games, however. He played underage football for Louth, and before departing cross-channel for his soccer career, he left his mark in the Wee County's senior club final in 1985.

At just 16, Staunton scored 1-1 in Clan na Gael's narrow victory over Roche Emmets.

At that time, Dublin legend Mickey Whelan had taken over as Louth's county senior football manager ahead of 1986, and Staunton's exploits on the GAA field quickly caught his eye.

Extract from Mickey Whelan: Love of the Game

Following Dublin's 1985 All-Ireland final loss to Kerry, Kevin Heffernan stepped aside as manager of the capital's senior football team for a second time.

After the massive success he had enjoyed, there were big boots to fill. Mickey Whelan's name was brought up as a potential successor. A few months prior to that, he had guided St Vincent's to the All-Ireland Club Championship final which was lost to Castleisland Desmonds.

Given how close he was with Kevin, however, he did not want to be the one taking the reins.

Speculation was growing in the media, when he was contacted by Louth GAA. Louth were looking for a new senior football manager.

"It was an exciting proposition in its own right, but it also presented an opportunity for me to remove my name from the Dublin reckoning," Whelan recalls.

"It was the right decision for me at the time.

"Louth were always a dangerous prospect going back to my own playing days, and I was looking to get them firing on all cylinders. All-Ireland titles might not always be the goal for teams, but we felt there was progress to be made. I was asked to improve them, and that's what I tried to do.

"I got the job in late-1985, and immediately went to work. I attended several of the matches in the club championship, looking to scour the county for talent. I was trying to keep the head down at these games, and hoped not to get spotted.

'It was not public knowledge at that stage that I had been appointed.

"The appetite for football in the county was clear, even though it is often considered a soccer stronghold. There were 5,000 packed in for the county final in 1985."

In that game, Clan na Gael overcame Roche Emmets, 1-6 to 0-4. The match was settled by a goal from a 16-year-old, one of the brightest prospects about. Steve Staunton rifled a left-footed shot into the net. He looked a cracking corner-forward.

Whelan was looking forward to getting him into the Louth panel. A bit more digging, however, informed him that Staunton, a student at the DLS in Dundalk, was already making a name for himself on soccer fields.

Unfortunately, from a Louth GAA perspective, his exploits with Dundalk FC were getting him noticed by English clubs. And he moved over to Liverpool the following year.

"What a Gaelic footballer he would have been!" Whelan comments.

'It was great to be part of such a team'

Staunton has fond memories of his playing days in Gaelic football, and credited his teammates for Clan na Gael's 1985 county championship success.

"I mean it was great to be a part of such a team. It was a really good side and I was just privileged to get a jersey in it," he recalled in a 2017 interview with The Dundalk Democrat.

"Personally, to score the goal was great, but I remember some of the boys scoring points at crucial stages in that game."

He knows first-hand the benefits a Gaelic football background can have for soccer players:

"As I always said to any of the scouts I met, I said if you're looking at Irish boys, make sure they have a GAA background for the simple reason that they're man-marked.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a defender, a midfielder or a forward, you have a natural instinct to get away from a man and find space."

By all accounts, Staunton was gifted with many of those transferable skills. But ultimately from a Louth GAA perspective, he went down as one that got away.