Updated at 7.40am
CORK LADIES FOOTBALL star Valerie Mulcahy has been praised by the county’s All-Ireland winning camogie captain for her ‘bravery’ and ‘courage’ in coming out publicly and discussing her sexuality.
Anna Geary, who captained Cork to win the O’Duffy Cup last September, is an executive committee member along with Mulcahy of the Women’s GPA that will be officially launched in Dublin today.
Mulcahy discussed her sexuality publicly on Monday night in Donal Óg Cusack’s Coming Out of the Curve documentary.
“It’s a really brave thing, of course it is,” remarked Geary. “Even look at (Leo) Varadkar, it’s really coming out more and more in the media now. The more people that come out the more acceptable it is.
“It’s about giving confidence and encouragement to young people that might be in that situation. Ultimately it’s about everyone feeling comfortable in their own skin.
“For the likes of Donal Óg and Valerie to be doing the programme, it just shows how far they have come. These people are not just role models for their talent, they’re also role models in their every day life.
“Anybody that has the courage to come out like that and done what she’s done, because once you put it out there in the media it’s out, it’s out there for critiquing and it’s out there for speculation and opinion. So for anyone to do it takes a lot of guts.”
Originally published 19 January at 11.55pm.