 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Gaelic Football | ||
| Position | Right corner-forward | ||
| Born |
3 June 1983 Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Nickname | The Gooch | ||
| Occupation | Bank official (AIB) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2000–present | Dr Crokes | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Kerry titles | 8 | ||
| Munster titles | 6 | ||
| All-Ireland Titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2002–2017 | Kerry | 85 (23–283) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 9 | ||
| All-Irelands | 5 | ||
| NFL | 4 | ||
| All Stars | 8 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 16:45, 4 April 2017. | |||
Colm "the Gooch" Cooper (born 3 June 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen years from 2002 to 2017.[1]
Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Cooper was born into a strong Gaelic football family. His father, Mike Cooper, had a strong involvement with the Dr Crokes club, serving as a minor and junior selector. Colm's nephew Mark was a part of the 2018 All Ireland winning Kerry Minor team, a competition he himself never won.[2]
Cooper played competitive Gaelic football as a student at St Brendan's College; however, his tenure coincided with a downturn in fortunes for the college. He first appeared for the Dr. Crokes club at underage levels, before making his debut with the senior team in 2000. An All-Ireland medal winners with the club in 2017, Cooper has also won five Munster medals and six county senior championship medals.
Cooper made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he was selected for the Kerry minor team in 2000. He enjoyed one championship season with the minor team, culminating with the winning of a Munster medal in 2001. Cooper subsequently joined the Kerry under-21 team, winning a Munster medal in 2002. By this stage he had also joined the Kerry senior team, making his debut during the 2002 league. Over the course of the next fifteen years, Cooper won five All-Ireland medals, beginning with a lone triumph in 2004, back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007, a fourth title in 2009 and a final championship as a non-playing substitute in 2014 due to injury. He also won nine Munster medals, three National Football League medals and was named Texaco Footballer of the Year in 2004. He played his last game for Kerry against Dublin in August 2016 before announcing his retirement from inter-county football on 4 April 2017.[3][4][5][6]
After being chosen on the Munster inter-provincial team for the first time in 2002, Cooper was also included on the team in 2004. He ended his career without a Railway Cup medal.
Cooper was first selected for the Ireland international rules football team in 2005, however, he declined to be included on subsequent squads for the competition.
Even during his playing days Cooper came to be recognised as one of the greatest players of all time. He was named Texaco Footballer of the Year in 2004, however, he never collected the All-Star Footballer of the Year title. In spite of this he won eight All-Star awards.
Cooper released his autobiography called Gooch The Autobiography in October 2017.[7] On 27 October 2017, Cooper became the first GAA player to have a testimonial dinner which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Ballsbridge.[8][9][10]
- ^ "Colm Cooper calls time on Kerry career". RTE Sport. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "news-detail – Page 10043216 – Kerry GAA". Archived from the original on 6 September 2018.
- ^ "'The best ever', 'top class', 'the greatest of all time' - tributes paid as the Gooch retires". The 42. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Colm Cooper: A treasure coveted in every Kingdom". Irish Independent. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Tomás Ó Sé: Colm Cooper Kerry's 'greatest footballer'". RTE Sport. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Eamonn Fitzmaurice bids farewell to 'genius' Colm Cooper". Irish Examiner. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "'F**k this,' I say. 'I'm going for a few pints' - Colm Cooper on being dropped in 2009". Irish Independent. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "'It's not a charity event' - Colm Cooper on what percentage of funds from testimonial dinner will go to good causes". Irish Independent. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Brolly sorry over Gooch testimonial furore". Irish Examiner. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Gooch deserves reward for his efforts, but are testimonials a step too far for amateur players?". Irish Independent. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.