Bill Cooper (hurler)

{{Infobox Gaelic games player

| code= Hurling

| sport = Hurling

| image =

| name = Bill Cooper

| irish = Liam Cúipéir

| fullname =

| feet = 6

| inches = 1

| occupation = Quantity surveyor

| county = Cork

| province = Munster

| club = Youghal
→ Imokilly
→ Cork IT
→ Imokilly

| cposition =

| clubs =

| clyears = 2008-present
2010-2011
2013
2018-present

| clapps(points) = 13 (2-15)
5 (2-06)
2 (0-04)
13 (0-16)

| clcounty = 3

| clprovince=

| clallireland =

| colleges = Cork Institute of Technology

| counties = Cork

| icposition = Midfield

| icyears = 2011-2021

| icapps(points) = 30 (2-29)

| icprovince = 3

| icallireland = 0

| nhl = 0

| allstars = 0

| clupdate =

| icupdate = 23:41, 6 November 2020

| birth_date={{Birth date and age|1987|12|16|df=yes}}

| birth_place=Youghal, County Cork, Ireland

}}

Bill Cooper (born 16 December 1987) is an Irish hurler who plays as a midfielder for club side Youghal, divisional side Imokilly and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team.

Playing career

=Youghal=

Cooper joined the Youghal club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying championship success in under-13 and under-14 grades.{{cite web|url=http://www.gaa.ie/hurling/news/club-bill-cooper-youghal/|title=My Club: Bill Cooper - Youghal|date=24 February 2016|publisher=GAA website|accessdate=5 July 2018|first=Brian|last=Murphy}} His performances at club level saw him added to the Imokilly team in the senior championship in 2010. On 13 October 2013, Cooper was captain of the Youghal team that defeated Castlelyons by 0–11 to 0–10 in the premier intermediate championship final.{{cite web|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/youghal-smash-n-grab-246232.html|title=Youghal smash 'n' grab|publisher=Irish Examiner|date=14 October 2013|accessdate=15 October 2013|first=Theresa|last=O'Callaghan}} He later won a Munster medal after scoring two points in Youghal's 2–13 to 2–10 defeat of Ballina.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/youghal-find-an-extra-edge-in-hour-of-glory-249922.html|title=Youghal find an extra edge in hour of glory|publisher=Irish Examiner|date=18 November 2013|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=|last=}}

=Cork=

==Intermediate==

Cooper first played for Cork at intermediate level on 30 May 2010 when he came on as a substitute in a Munster Championship quarter-final defeat of Tipperary.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/holders-show-their-mettle-1.672214|title=Holders show their mettle|publisher=Irish Times|date=31 May 2010|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=|last=}} By the end of the provincial championship, Cooper had established himself as the team's first-choice centre-forward, winning a Munster medal after a two-point defeat of Waterford.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/osullivan-to-fore-for-cork-26665801.html|title=O'Sullivan to fore for Cork|publisher=Irish Independent|date=23 July 2010|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=|last=}} On 28 August 2010, Cooper scored three points from play in Cork's 2–17 to 1–13 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/clinical-cleere-helps-classy-cats-end-cork-s-reign-1.644428|title=Clinical Cleere helps classy Cats end Cork's reign|publisher=Irish Times|date=30 August 2010|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=|last=}}

==Senior==

Cooper made his senior debut for Cork on 27 March 2011, replacing Cian McCarthy for the final 4 minutes of a National League game against Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/no-advantage-in-cagey-encounter-1.584736|title=No advantage in cagey encounter|date=28 March 2011|publisher=Irish Times|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=|last=}} He made his first championship appearance in an All-Ireland Qualifier on 18 June 2011 and scored 1-03 from play in a 10–20 to 1–13 defeat of Laois.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/laois-just-cannon-fodder-for-rebels-158308.html|title=Laois just cannon fodder for Rebels|date=20 June 2011|publisher=Irish Examiner|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=Brendan|last=O'Brien}} Cooper missed the following two seasons due to a disc problem in his back but returned to the panel after a 14-month layoff.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/bill-cooper-cork-have-a-lot-of-ground-to-make-up-399958.html|title=Bill Cooper: Cork have a lot of ground to make up|date=17 May 2016|publisher=Irish Examiner|accessdate=8 July 2018|first=Michael|last=Moynihan}} On 13 July 2014, he won his first Munster medal after a six-point defeat of Limerick in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/supersub-paudie-osullivan-gives-cork-real-belief-30428526.html|title=Supersub Paudie O'Sullivan gives Cork real belief|date=14 July 2014|publisher=Irish Independent|accessdate=7 July 2018|first=Martin|last=Breheny}}

Over the following seasons, Cooper established himself as a key member of Cork's starting fifteen. On 9 July 2017, he won his second Munster medal following a 1–25 to 1–20 defeat of Clare in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/cork-victorious-over-clare-in-munster-hurling-final-797054.html|title=Cork victorious over Clare in Munster hurling final|date=9 July 2017|publisher=Irish Examiner|accessdate=5 July 2018|first=|last=}}

On 1 July 2018, Cooper won a third Munster medal following a 2–24 to 3–19 defeat of Clare in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/cork-quietly-collect-another-munster-title-as-clare-crumble-1.3550274|title=Cork quietly collect another Munster title as Clare crumble|date=1 July 2018|publisher=Irish Times|accessdate=5 July 2018|first=Malachy|last=Clerkin}}

Career statistics

=Club=

rowspan="2"\|Team !rowspan="2"\|Year !colspan="2"\|Cork PIHC !colspan="2"\|Munster !colspan="2"\|All-Ireland !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
rowspan="20"\|Youghal \|2008	3	0-04	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	0-04
2009	3	0-05	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	0-05
2010	5	3-10	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	5	3-10
2011	7	2-12	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	7	2-12
2012 \|colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—
2013	7	1-05	4	0-07	2	0-05	13	1-17
Total !25	6-36	4	0-07	2	0-05	31	6-48
rowspan=2\|Year !colspan=2\|Cork SHC !colspan="2"\|Munster !colspan="2"\|All-Ireland !colspan="2"\|Total
Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
2014	4	0-05	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	4	0-05
2015	3	0-04	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	0-04
2016	3	2-03	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	2-03
2017	3	0-03	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	0-03
Total !13	2-15	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	13	2-15
rowspan=2\|Year !colspan=2\|Cork PIHC !colspan="2"\|Munster !colspan="2"\|All-Ireland !colspan="2"\|Total
Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
2018	3	1-03	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	1-03
2019	2	0-06	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	2	0-06
2020	3	2-10	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	3	2-10
Total !8	3-19	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	8	3-19
colspan="2"\|Career total !46	11-70	4	0-07	2	0-05	52	11-82

=Division=

rowspan="2"\|Team !rowspan="2"\|Year !colspan="2"\|Cork PSHC
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Apps	Score
rowspan="4"\|Imokilly \|2010	3	1-02
2011	2	1-04
2012 \|colspan=2\|—
Total !5	2-06
rowspan="2"\|Cork Institute of Technology \|2013	2	0-04
Total !2	0-04
rowspan="4"\|N/A \|2014 \|colspan=2\|—
2015 \|colspan=2\|—
2016 \|colspan=2\|—
2017 \|colspan=2\|—
rowspan="4"\|Imokilly \|2018	6	0-08
2019	6	0-06
2020	1	0-02
Total !13	0-16
colspan="2"\|Career total !20	2-26

=Inter-county=

rowspan="2"\|Team !rowspan="2"\|Year !colspan="3"\|National League !colspan="2"\|Munster !colspan="2"\|All-Ireland !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
rowspan="10"\|Cork \|2011 \|rowspan="1"\|Division 1 \|2	0-01	0	0-00	3	1-03	5	1-04
2012 \|rowspan="2"\|Division 1A \|colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—
2013 \|colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—	colspan=2\|—
2014 \|rowspan="1"\|Division 1B \|0	0-00	4	1-06	1	0-00	5	1-06
2015 \|rowspan="6"\|Division 1A \|5	0-02	1	0-01	3	0-04	9	0-07
2016 \|6	1-05	1	0-00	2	0-02	9	1-07
2017 \|6	0-06	3	0-01	1	0-00	10	0-07
2018 \|5	0-06	5	0-08	1	0-00	11	0-14
2019 \|5	0-04	3	0-01	2	0-01	10	0-06
2020 \|5	1-02	1	0-02	2	0-01	8	1-05
colspan="3"\|Career total !34	2-26	18	1-19	15	1-11	67	4-56