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WHEN Colm Cooper retired from inter-county football earlier this year, he left behind a remarkable legacy. From a family steeped in Gaelic football, and a core member of the Dr Crokes team, Colm was still in his teens when he first played for Kerry at senior level.

Broadcaster Michael Lyster was MC at the launch of Colm’s book Gooch: The Autobiography in The Gleneagle Hotel yesterday evening.

Overcoming struggles with injury and personal tragedy, Cooper became one of the GAA’s most recognisable and best-loved figures at a time of tumultuous change in the game.

But the man known nationally as "Gooch" is also an intensely private figure who has never courted publicity and his personal story remains largely untold. Now Gooch: The Autobiography unlocks a previously unopened door, tracing a compelling path through the life beyond the headlines. This is the story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary footballer.
 

 
Above: Colm Cooper at the launch of his autobiography at The Gleneagle Hotel yesterday evening. Pic: Eamonn Keogh