Christy Cooney (Irish: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland) is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president[1] of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress on 12 April 2008 and succeeded Nickey Brennan in the post in 2009 - becoming the 36th president of the GAA.[2]
In the GAA Annual Congress in 2005, Nickey Brennan was voted as the new GAA president, only 17 votes ahead of Cooney.[2] Brennan's election was seen as a surprise by some and Cooney thought he had gathered enough support among delegates to secure the position.[2] Brennan said that he hoped Cooney would put his name forward again in the future.[2] At the time Cooney was president of his local club Youghal.[2]
Cooney ran again for president three years later and was elected with over half the votes at the 2008 Congress, beating Liam O'Neill and Sean Fogarty.[3] In 2011 O'Neill was nominated unopposed to succeed to the post, and did so as Cooney stepped down in April 2012.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
- ^ Brennan, Michael (5 December 2008). "Croke Park used as jobs fair venue 'to save lives of children'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Bogue, Declan (10 April 2009). "New man for the big job". Gaelic Life. p. 8.
- ^ "Cooney to be next GAA President". RTÉ. 12 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2009.