Joe Cooney

Joe Cooney
Personal information
Irish name Seosamh Ó Cuana
Sport Hurling
Position Centre-forward
Born (1965-03-17) 17 March 1965 (age 59)
Bullaun, County Galway, Ireland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Occupation Farmer
Club(s)
Years Club
1981–2004
 Sarsfields
Club titles
Galway titles 5
Connacht titles 5
All-Ireland Titles 2
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
1983–2000
 Galway 35 (10–102)
Inter-county titles
Connacht titles 3
All-Irelands 2
NHL 3
All Stars 5
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 16:16, 24 May 2014.
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Joseph Cooney (born 17 March 1965) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Galway county team.[1]

Born in Bullaun, County Galway, Cooney first played competitive hurling during his schooling at St Raphael's College. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Galway minor team, before later joining the under-21 side. He made his senior debut during the 1983 championship. Cooney immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen and won two All-Ireland medals, three Connacht medals and three National Hurling League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on four occasions.

As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team on a number of occasions, Cooney won four Railway Cup medal. At club level he is a two-time All-Ireland medallist with Sarsfields. In addition to this he has also won three Connacht medals and five championship medals.

Cooney's brother, Jimmy, was also an All-Ireland medallist with Galway while his son, Joseph, also lined out with Galway.

His career tally of 10 goals and 102 points ranks him as Galway's fifth highest championship scorer of all time.

Throughout his career Cooney made 35 championship appearances. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling on 24 January 2001.[2]

During his playing days, Cooney won five All-Star awards in six seasons as well as being named Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1987. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at midfield on the Club Hurling Silver Jubilee Team and at centre-forward on the Galway Hurling Team of the Millennium and the Supreme All-Stars team.[3] Cooney was also chosen as one of the 125 greatest hurlers of all time in a 2009 poll.[4]

In May 2020, the Irish Independent named Cooney at number eleven in its "Top 20 hurlers in Ireland over the past 50 years".[5]

  1. ^ "Joe Cooney". Hogan Stand. 6 November 1992. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  2. ^ Moran, Seán (24 January 2001). "Cooney yields Galway shirt he graced so well". Irish Times. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. ^ Breheny, Martin (28 November 2001). "Residents of Quality Street form another galaxy". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  4. ^ Breheny, Martin & Keyes, Colm (4 November 2009). "Henry Shefflin and Jack O'Shea reign supreme as our search for the top hurler and footballer of the past 125 years concludes". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 September 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Breheny, Martin (30 May 2020). "Revealed: The Top 20 hurlers in Ireland over the past 50 years". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 30 May 2020.