Matt Cooper (born 21 July 1966) is an Irish journalist, author and broadcaster who presents news review show '' The Last Word'' on

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

. Cooper is a former editor of the ''

Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...

'' and former business editor of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

''. He has also done some television work.

Early life

Cooper was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in 1966 and was educated at the

North Monastery The North Monastery ( Irish: ''An Mhainistir Thuaidh''), commonly known as The Mon, is a co-educational education campus comprising Scoil Mhuire Fatima Primary School, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG, loca ...

school and later at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

. As well as radio, sport was another early passion. Cooper played rugby with

Sunday's Well Sunday's Well () is a suburb of Cork city in Ireland. It is situated in the north-west of the city, on a ridge on the northern bank of the River Lee. Sunday's Well is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. The area's former 19th ...

and later captained the under-20s team. He also had a fondness for GAA, and played Gaelic football and hurling for the

Bishopstown GAA Bishopstown Hurling and Football Club is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated to the Seandún Board and fields teams in Gaelic football, hurling and camogie. History Located in the suburb ...

club.

Career

Cooper is a client of Noel Kelly, of NK Management.

Journalism

Cooper is a former editor of the ''

'', appointed in September 1996, as well as a former business editor of the ''

''. Then aged 30, he was the youngest person in Ireland to be appointed an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of a

national newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, art, ...

. Cooper was awarded Business Journalist of the Year in 1992 and 1999 and also National Journalist of the Year in 1993 and 2001. He is a graduate of

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

''The Last Word''

Cooper presents the news review show '' The Last Word'' on

from 16:30 to 19:00 every weekday. In 2008, he spent hours recreating the iconic picture used for the cover of ''

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

'' to publicise Today FM's move across the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

only to admit "I'm not really a

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

fan. Maybe I'm just a little bit too young or something". Cooper writes a weekly column for the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'' and one for the Irish edition of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' newspaper. In 2011, Kim Bielenberg said in the ''

'' that Cooper would make a worthy replacement for

Pat Kenny Patrick Kenny (born 29 January 1948) is an Irish broadcaster, who currently hosts the daily radio show ''The Pat Kenny Show'' on Newstalk and the current affairs show ''Pat Kenny Tonight'' on Virgin Media One. Prior to this, Kenny had a 41-ye ...

at RTÉ with Kenny in the "autumn of his career". Bielenberg also said Cooper was "never going to be the next

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

Television work

Cooper was a frequent host of live

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

coverage on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

. He has also hosted live rugby and GAA matches on the same channel. To coincide with the 100-year anniversary of

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in July 2016, Cooper narrated the RTE documentary ''Heroes Of The Somme'', which uncovered the stories of some of the men that won

The Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was p ...

fighting there. From 2017 to 2021, Cooper has co-hosted

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel launched on 20 September 19 ...

with

Ivan Yates Ivan Yates (born 23 October 1959) is an Irish broadcaster, businessman and former politician. He was elected as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency at the 1981 general election and at each election until his retirement ...

Writings

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 of

Tony O'Reilly Sir Anthony John Francis O'Reilly (7 May 1936 – 18 May 2024) was an Irish businessman and international rugby union player. He was known for his try scoring in rugby, his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from ...

, titled ''The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O’Reilly'' was published by

Gill and Macmillan A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

Visit to North Korea

In January 2014, Cooper secretly accompanied

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

for

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

's big birthday basketball game. His cover was blown when they were seen together on

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

at an airport in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. ''Today FM'' confirmed Cooper's presence in North Korea and that he would meet Kim Jong-un while there. A documentary was filmed based on Rodman's trip and the basketball game he organised versus North Korea; entitled '' Dennis Rodman's Big Bang in Pyongyang'', it received a cinematic release in July 2015 and featured narration by Cooper, who also featured extensively in the film.

Personal life

Copper has been married to fellow

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

native Aileen Hickey since 1995. The couple have 5 children, 3 daughters and 2 sons.

References

External links

* Today FM bios
OldNew

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Matt 1966 births Living people People educated at North Monastery Alumni of Dublin City University Alumni of University College Cork Bishopstown Gaelic footballers Bishopstown hurlers Broadcasters from County Cork Dual players Gaelic games journalists Irish columnists Irish journalists Irish Examiner people Irish Independent people Irish sports broadcasters Writers from Cork (city) Sunday Tribune people Today FM presenters 21st-century Irish people Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters 20th-century Irish sportsmen