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Matt Cooper (Irish journalist)

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For the American journalist, seeMatthew Cooper (American journalist).

Matt Cooper
Born(1966-07-21)21 July 1966(age 57)
Cork,Ireland
NationalityIrish
Education
Occupations
EmployerToday FM
AgentNoel Kelly[1]
Notable creditThe Last Word
SpouseAileen Hickey(m. 1995)
Children5

Matt Cooper(born 21 July 1966) is an Irish journalist, author and broadcaster who presents news review showThe Last WordonToday FM.

Cooper is a former editor of theSunday Tribuneand former business editor of theIrish Independent.He has also done some television work.

Early life[edit]

Cooper was born inCorkin 1966[2]and was educated at theNorth Monasteryschool and later atUniversity College Cork.[3]

As well as radio, sport was another early passion. Cooper played rugby withSunday's Welland later captained the under-20s team. He also had a fondness for GAA, and played Gaelic football and hurling for theBishopstown GAAclub.[4]

Career[edit]

Cooper is a client ofNoel Kelly,of NK Management.[1]

Journalism[edit]

Cooper is a former editor of theSunday Tribune,appointed in September 1996, as well as a former business editor of theIrish Independent.Then aged 30, he was the youngest person in Ireland to be appointed aneditorof anational newspaper.[5]Cooper was awarded Business Journalist of the Year in 1992 and 1999 and also National Journalist of the Year in 1993 and 2001.[3]He is a graduate ofDublin City University.

The Last Word[edit]

Cooper presents the news review showThe Last WordonToday FMfrom 16:30 to 19:00 every weekday. In 2008, he spent hours recreating the iconic picture used for the cover ofAbbey Roadto publicise Today FM's move across theRiver Liffeyonly to admit "I'm not really aBeatlesfan. Maybe I'm just a little bit too young or something ".[6]Cooper writes a weekly column for theIrish Examinerand one for the Irish edition ofThe Sunday Timesnewspaper.

In 2011, Kim Bielenberg said in theIrish Independentthat Cooper would make a worthy replacement forPat Kennyat RTÉ with Kenny in the "autumn of his career". Bielenberg also said Cooper was "never going to be the nextGraham Norton".[7]

Television work[edit]

Cooper was a frequent host of liveUEFA Champions Leaguecoverage onTV3.He has also hosted live rugby and GAA matches on the same channel.

To coincide with the 100-year anniversary ofBattle of the Sommein July 2016, Cooper narrated the RTE documentaryHeroes Of The Somme,which uncovered the stories of some of the men that wonThe Victoria Crossfighting there.[8]

From 2017 to 2021, Cooper has co-hostedThe Tonight ShowonVirgin Media OnewithIvan Yates.

Writings[edit]

Cooper's book,Who Really Runs Ireland,was published in 2009. It examines Irish businessmen and politicians and their relationships.

  • Who Really Runs Ireland?(2010)
  • How Ireland Really Went Bust(2011)

In 2015, a biography ofTony O'Reilly,titledThe Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O’Reillywas published byGill and Macmillan.[9][10]

Visit to North Korea[edit]

In January 2014, Cooper secretly accompaniedDennis RodmantoNorth KoreaforKim Jong-un's big birthday basketball game.[11]His cover was blown when they were seen together onSky Newsat an airport inBeijing.[12][13]Today FMconfirmed Cooper's presence in North Korea and that he would meet Kim Jong-un while there.[14]A documentary was filmed based on Rodman's trip and the basketball game he organised versus North Korea; entitledDennis Rodman's Big Bang in Pyongyang,[15]it received a cinematic release in July 2015 and featured narration by Cooper, who also featured extensively in the film.[16][17]

Personal life[edit]

Copper has been married to fellowCounty Corknative Aileen Hickey since 1995.[18]The couple have 5 children, 3 daughters and 2 sons.[19]

He supportsLeeds United.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^abKeena, Colm (1 July 2023)."Noel Kelly: Who is the behind-the-scenes agent, seen as RTÉ's 'real director general'? Dublin talent agent, who played a key role in funneling hidden payments to Ryan Tubridy, was considered more powerful than broadcaster's own director general".The Irish Times.Kelly is a successful agent, working with broadcasters such as Claire Byrne, Joe Duffy, Pat Kenny, Ivan Yates, Matt Cooper, Caitríona Perry, Carl Mullan, Cormac O'hEadhra and Ciara Kelly, as well as Tubridy, as part of his agency, NK Management.
  2. ^"Matt Cooper - Features - Interview - Hot Press".Archivedfrom the original on 22 July 2015.Retrieved3 January2013.
  3. ^ab"2015 UCC Alumni Achievement Awards - University College Cork (UCC)".Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2016.Retrieved10 April2016.
  4. ^"TV3 ANNOUNCES GAA LINE UP FOR THE 2008 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON".Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021.Retrieved30 April2012.
  5. ^"Today FM's Matt Cooper on his marriage: 'Aileen has had to sacrifice a lot career-wise' – Irish Mirror Online".24 August 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 7 August 2016.Retrieved10 April2016.
  6. ^"Radio heads follow the fab four".Irish Independent.28 February 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 4 September 2012.Retrieved16 March2008.
  7. ^Bielenberg, Kim."The top 10 waiting in the wings"Archived27 June 2012 at theWayback Machine.Irish Independent.22 October 2011.
  8. ^"HEROES OF THE SOMME - RTÉ Presspack".Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2016.Retrieved12 July2016.
  9. ^"New Biography Of Tony O'Reilly - BizPlus".18 September 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 21 April 2016.Retrieved8 January2016.
  10. ^"Home".Archivedfrom the original on 13 February 2016.Retrieved8 January2016.
  11. ^O'Connell, Hugh."Today FM's Matt Cooper is in North Korea with Dennis Rodman".Archivedfrom the original on 6 January 2014.Retrieved6 January2014.
  12. ^"TodayFM's Matt Cooper travels to North Korea with Dennis Rodman - Independent.ie".
  13. ^"Dennis Rodman departs for North Korea basketball exhibition"Archived6 January 2014 at theWayback Machine.RTÉ News. Retrieved on 6 January 2014.
  14. ^Hamilton, Sam (6 January 2014)."Today FM's Matt Cooper to meet North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un".Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2014.
  15. ^"Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in PyongYang".25 January 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2018.Retrieved1 July2018– via IMDb.
  16. ^Brophy, Daragh."Matt Cooper was genuinely worried the North Koreans might 'get rid of' him".Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2016.Retrieved12 July2016.
  17. ^"Film about Dennis Rodman's bizarre visit to North Korea, narrated by Matt Cooper, gets rave review from Variety - Independent.ie".Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2016.Retrieved12 July2016.
  18. ^Kent, David (11 August 2021)."Inside Matt Cooper's family life as he announces he's quitting Tonight Show".Irish Mirror.Retrieved12 November2022.
  19. ^"Matt Cooper: 'I didn't desire to have a big family, it just sort of happened'".The Irish Times.Retrieved12 November2022.
  20. ^"Man Utd glory days may be over as club runs out of money and luck".8 January 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2011.Retrieved19 April2012.

External links[edit]

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