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Conor Cooney

Cooney in action for St Thomas'
Personal information
Irish name	Conchúr Ó Cuana
Sport	Hurling
Position	Full-forward
Born	(1992-10-22) 22 October 1992 (age 32) Ballinasloe, Ireland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Occupation	Primary school teacher
Club(s)
Years	Club
	St Thomas'
Club titles
Galway titles	8
All-Ireland Titles	2
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2012–present	Galway	48 (11-145)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles	3
All-Irelands	1
NHL	2
All Stars	1
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 21:00, 18 June 2022.

Conor Cooney (born 22 October 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Galway Senior Championship club St Thomas' and at inter-county level with the Galway senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a full-forward.

Playing career

Gort Community School

Cooney first came to prominence as a hurler with Gort Community School. He played in every grade of hurling before eventually joining the school's senior team. On 8 March 2008, he won a Connacht Colleges Championship medal as a non-playing substitute following Gort's 2-16 to 0-15 defeat of Mercy Colleges in the final.

After breaking onto the starting fifteen, Cooney lined out at midfield when Gort Community School faced Portumna Community School in the Connacht final on 21 March 2009. He scored four points from frees and claimed a second winners' medal - his first on the field of play - after a 2-14 to 0-08 victory.

On 6 March 2010, Cooney lined out in a third successive Connacht final. He scored three points from full-forward but ended the game on the losing side after suffering a 1-13 to 2-09 defeat by Presentation College from Athenry.

Mary Immaculate College

During his studies at the Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Cooney was selected for the college's senior hurling team. On 2 March 2013, he lined out at left wing-forward when Mary I faced University College Cork in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. Cooney scored 1-03, including a goal from a penalty, but ended the game on the losing side after a 2-17 to 2-12 defeat.

St Thomas'

Minor and under-21

Cooney joined the St Thomas' club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 2 November 2008, he was at left corner-forward when St Thomas' faced Athenry in the Galway Minor A Championship final. Cooney scored two points from play in the 2-17 to 2-10 victory.

Cooney subsequently progressed onto the club's under-21 team. On 5 May 2013, he claimed an under-21 championship winners' medal after St Thomas' 1-10 to 0-11 defeat of Tynagh-Abbey/Duniry in the final.

Senior

On 18 November 2012, Cooney lined out at centre-forward when St Thomas' faced Loughrea in their very first county final. He scored four points, including two frees, and claimed a winners' medal after the 3-11 to 2-11 victory. On 17 March 2013, Cooney was again selected at centre-forward when St Thomas' qualified for an All-Ireland final appearance against Kilcormac/Killoughey. He top-scored for the team with five points and collected an All-Ireland medal after the 1-09 to 1-07 victory.

On 16 October 2016, Cooney lined out at right wing-forward in his second Galway Championship final. Her scored six points overall and collected a second winners' medal after the 1-11 to 0-10 defeat of Gort.

Cooney captained the team from full-forward when lined out in his third county final on 18 November 2018. He scored 1-01 from play and claimed a third winners' medal following a 2-13 to 0-10 defeat of Liam Mellows.

St Thomas' qualified for a second successive final on 10 November 2019, with Cooney once again captaining the team from full-forward. He was held scoreless throughout but ended the game with a fourth winners' medal after the 1-13 to 0-14 defeat of Liam Mellows.

Galway

Minor and under-21

Cooney first played for Galway as a 16-year-old member of the minor team during the 2009 All-Ireland Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 25 July 2009 when he came on as a substitute at midfield for James Regan and scored a point in a 4-23 to 0-10 defeat of Antrim. On 6 September 2009, Cooney won an All-Ireland Championship medal as a non-playing substitute when Galway defeated Kilkenny by 2-15 to 2-11 in the final.

Cooney was eligible for the minor grade for a second successive season in 2010. He made his last appearance for the team on 8 August 2010 when Galway suffered a 5-19 to 0-15 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final.

On 20 August 2011, Cooney made his first appearance for the Galway under-21 team. He scored a point from right wing-forward in a 0-22 to 2-14 defeat of Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final. He was switched to full-forward for the All-Ireland final against Dublin on 10 September 2011. Cooney was held scoreless but collected a winners' medal following the 3-14 to 1-10 victory.

Cooney played his last game in the under-21 grade on 24 August 2013 when he scored a point from centre-forward in a 1-16 to 0-07 defeat by Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Senior

Cooney was added to the Galway senior team in advance of the 2012 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 26 February 2012 when he scored four points from right wing-forward in a 0-20 to 0-13 defeat of Dublin. Cooney made his Leinster Championship debut on 3 June 2012 in a 5-19 to 4-12 defeat of Westmeath. On 8 July 2012, he was at full-forward for Galway's first ever Leinster Championship title following a 2-21 to 2-11 defeat of Kilkenny in the final. Cooney was dropped from the starting fifteen for Galway's All-Ireland final meeting with Kilkenny on 9 September 2012. Galway led by 1-09 to 0-07 at half-time, however, it took a 73rd-minute free from Joe Canning to level the scores at 2-13 to 0-19. Cooney again failed to make the starting fifteen for the replay on 30 September 2012 but was introduced as a substitute for Niall Burke in the 3-22 to 3-11 defeat.

On 7 July 2013, Cooney scored two points from centre-forward for Galway when they suffered a 2-25 to 2-13 defeat by Dublin in the Leinster final.

Cooney's 2015 season was hampered by a series of injuries, however, he was included on the team for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny on 6 September 2015. He was introduced as a substitute for Andy Smith but ended the game on the losing side following a 1-22 to 1-18 defeat.

On 3 July 2016, Cooney lined out at left wing-forward when Galway faced Kilkenny in the Leinster final. He scored three points from play but ended the game on the losing side after a 1-26 to 0-22 defeat.

On 22 April 2017, Cooney was a non-playing substitute when Galway won the National League title after a 3-21 to 0-14 victory over Tipperary in the final. The subsequent championship saw Galway qualify for a Leinster final meeting with Wexford. Cooney ended the game with a second provincial winners' medal after scoring 0-08 in the 0-29 to 1-17 victory. On 3 September 2017, Cooney was at full-forward when Galway faced Waterford in the All-Ireland final. He scored three points from play in the 0-26 to 2-17 victory and a first All-Ireland Championship for Galway in 29 years. Cooney ended the season by winning a GAA/GPA All-Star.

On 1 July 2018, Cooney scored a point from play in Galway's 0-18 apiece draw with Kilkenny in the Leinster final. The replay a week later saw him end the game with a third provincial winners' medal after Galway's 1-28 to 3-15 victory. On 19 August 2018, Canning was at full-forward when Galway faced Limerick in the All-Ireland final. He was held scoreless throughout the game before being substituted in the 57th minute as Limerick won their first title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 victory.

Connacht

On 4 March 2012, Cooney was selected for the Connacht inter-provincial team for the first time. He top-scored with 0-09 from centre-forward but ended the game on the losing side after a 2-19 to 1-15 defeat by Leinster in the Railway Cup final.

After a one-year absence, Cooney was included on the Connacht team once again during the 2014 Railway Cup. On 1 March 2014, he scored 0-08 from centre-forward when Connacht suffered a 1-23 to 0-16 defeat by Leinster in the final.

Career statistics

As of 18 June 2022

Honours

Player

Gort Community School

• Connacht Colleges Senior Hurling Championship (2): 2008, 2009

St Thomas'

• All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship (2): 2013, 2024 (c)
• Galway Senior Hurling Championship (8): 2012, 2016, 2018 (c), 2019 (c), 2020 (c), 2021, 2022 (c), 2023 (c)

Galway

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2017
• Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (3): 2012, 2017, 2018
• National Hurling League (2): 2017, 2021
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (1): 2011
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1): 2009

Honours

Awards

• GAA/GPA All-Star (1): 2017

References

1. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (4 March 2013). "UCC do it for O'Connor". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
2. Fallon, John (19 November 2012). "Heavenly day for Burke's Saints". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
3. "First ever All-Ireland hurling title for St Thomas". Irish Examiner. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
4. Rooney, Declan (17 October 2016). "St Thomas' targeting more glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
5. Breheny, Martin (19 November 2018). "Burke stars as Thomas' mark 50th anniversary with Galway title glory". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
6. Fallon, John (10 November 2019). "Burke clan are key as St Thomas retain Galway hurling crown against Liam Mellows". The 42. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
7. Larkin, Brendan (27 July 2009). "Cummins and Badger unite to orchestrate Galway rout of Saffrons". Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
8. "Galway deny Kilkenny back-to-back titles". Irish Times. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
9. "No problems for Kilkenny Minor hurlers against Galway". Breaking News. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
10. "Galway's youth rip up Treaty". Irish Times. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
11. "Galway see off Dublin to win U21 hurling crown". Irish Examiner. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
12. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (26 August 2013). "Clare's golden generation drive on". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
13. "Holders Dublin suffer league defeat in Galway". Breaking News. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
14. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (4 June 2012). "Galway get by despite bad defence". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
15. Moran, Seán (8 July 2012). "Electric Galway leave Cats frazzled". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
16. Moran, Seán (10 September 2012). "Canning's nerves of steel earn Galway another tilt at the title". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
17. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (1 October 2012). "Back to basics works for merciless Kilkenny". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
18. Russell, Adrian (7 July 2013). "Dublin end famine with famous win over Galway at Croker". The 42. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
19. McGoldrick, Seán (6 September 2015). "Kilkenny deliver an 11th All-Ireland for Brian Cody as Galway challenge fades away". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
20. McGoldrick, Seán (3 July 2016). "Galway challenge peters out as Kilkenny claim 71st Leinster crown in familiar style". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
21. "Flynn fires two goals as Galway hand out 16-point beating to Tipperary in league final". The 42. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
22. "Conor Cooney masterclass leads Galway past Wexford to their first Leinster title since 2012". The 42. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
23. "Emotions run high as Tribe end agonising 29-year wait". Irish Examiner. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
24. "Galway end 29 years of hurt as they lift All-Ireland crown with win over Waterford". The 42. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
25. "Andy Moran and Joe Canning are football and hurler of the year". Irish Examiner. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
26. "Leinster SHC final: Cats and Tribe must meet again". Hogan Stand. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
27. Fogarty, John (8 July 2018). "Galway hold their nerve against Kilkenny in Leinster final replay". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
28. Ryan, Eoin (19 August 2018). "Limerick hang on against Galway to end 45 years of pain". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
29. "Leinster take interprovincial hurling crown". Irish Examiner. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
30. O'Rourke, Steve (1 March 2014). "Leinster claim Interprovincial hurling title with win over Connacht". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.

• All Stars Awards winners (hurling)
• 1992 births
• Living people
• St Thomas' hurlers
• Galway inter-county hurlers
• Connacht inter-provincial hurlers
• Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
• Irish schoolteachers
• Sportspeople from Ballinasloe
• 21st-century Irish sportsmen