Christy Cooney (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland) is a

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

administrator, who served as the 36th president of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress on 12 April 2008 and succeeded

Nickey Brennan Nicholas "Nickey" Brennan (born 3 December 1953) is an Irish former hurler, manager and Gaelic games administrator. He played as a right wing-back at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. More recently, he served as the 35th president ...

in the post in 2009 - becoming the 36th president of the GAA. In the GAA Annual Congress in 2005, Nickey Brennan was voted as the new GAA president, only 17 votes ahead of Cooney. Brennan's election was seen as a surprise by some and Cooney thought he had gathered enough support among delegates to secure the position. Brennan said that he hoped Cooney would put his name forward again in the future. At the time Cooney was president of his local club Youghal. Cooney ran again for president three years later and was elected with over half the votes at the 2008 Congress, beating

Liam O'Neill Liam O'Neill is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 37th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He is from County Laois. Biography A former chairman of the Leinster Council, O'Neill initially sought the GAA presidency at the ...

and Sean Fogarty. In 2011 O'Neill was nominated unopposed to succeed to the post, and did so as Cooney stepped down in April 2012. Earlier, in the mid-1990s, Cooney was one of the government-appointed members of the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC), which at the time licensed and regulated Independent broadcasting in Ireland.

Controversy

Cooney was widely criticised for his stance on

pitch invasion A pitch invasion (known in North America as field storming or rushing the field) occurs when a person or a crowd of people spectating a sporting event run onto the competition area, usually to celebrate or protest an incident, or sometimes as ...

s at Croke Park. Due to an anti-pitch invasion stance held by Cooney and other GAA officials, the GAA installed a large fence encompassing perspex screening in front of the Hill 16 end in an effort to deter pitch invasions. In numerous interviews, Cooney gave the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

as an example why this fence is needed, yet numerous columnists have pointed out the irony that this fence may actually lead to a Hillsborough type tragedy at Croke Park. A campaign to get

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

to remove the barrier began.

FÁS controversy

Cooney faced the public accounts committee regarding €643,000 spent on foreign travel by FÁS executives as well as spending irregularities identified in FÁS's €9m annual advertising budget.

References

1952 births Living people Gaelic games club administrators Hurling managers People from Youghal Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association {{GAA-bio-stub