On the 20th of September 2014, Johnny Cooper was stabbed in Dublin city centre. On the 20th of September 2015, the Dublin star was lifting Sam Maguire not too far away in Croke Park. It's a bit of cliché but in this case we think it's alright to say that a year can make one hell of a difference.
Cooper and his Dublin teammate Dean Rock were in studio with Anton Savage on Today FM today and the question of Cooper's stabbing was brought up. Unknown to Savage and something that probably hasn't been given due attention, Cooper spoke of just how fitting a date the 20th of September was to lift the All-Ireland title.
A year to the day, minus a couple of hours, I was walking out of hospital and walking out of Croke Park with Sam Maguire.
Obviously enough a year can make a pretty big difference but the timing of it in Cooper's case is rather special. Pressed on what he could remember from that moment last year, Cooper, understandably, still finds it difficult to remember exactly what happened on Dorset Street last year.
I have some vague memories of someone standing over me and doing what he was doing. Thank God I got all the support I got because it was a tough time.
He did get through it and was back lining out for Na Fianna in little more than a month. A return to the Dublin setup followed and now he's celebrating with Sam Maguire. Not a bad way to bounce back from such a setback.
