Donabate Community College would like to thank Jonny Cooper who visited the school on Thursday 5th November from DCU to give a talk to Fifth Year students on career opportunities available to them and the fantastic facilities and courses DCU have on offer. After explaining about the different types of courses available in DCU and what opportunities there were for students, Jonny also stayed behind to answer any questions students had. We are indebted to Jonny for taking the time to visit these students and give them an introduction to Third Level Education.
TY Journalism students Aoife O’Reilly and Orla Keeling had a great opportunity to interview Dublin senior footballer and two-time All-Ireland final winner Jonny Cooper while on a brief visit to Donabate Community College.
First we asked Jonny how it felt to have won three all Irelands in five years, his response was not surprising as he said “Brilliant! It’s a good time for Dublin GAA.” We also asked him about his training and nutrition regime, which for nine months of the year is very strict. Jonny also told us that he trains three times a week with the team and three times by himself. This surely demonstrates the massive commitment and dedication this player gives to, what after all is, an amateur sport.
We were surprised by his response when we asked him if the team’s win against Kerry in 2015 brought back any fond memories of the win in 2011. He told us that he sees each win in isolation to the last. This tells us that the team take nothing for granted and see each campaign as a new challenge.
When we asked him for some advice for young footballers on nutrition and strength and conditioning, he advised that it was important not to get too serious too young.
It was a huge honour to have the opportunity to interview this Dublin legend. We would like to say a big thank you to Jonny Cooper and it was our pleasure to interview him.
Thanks to TY Journalism students, Aoife O’Reilly and Orla Keeling for this report!