Club Cooper helped
Dr Crokes win the 2000
Kerry Senior Football Championship at the age of 17, beating
An Ghaeltacht in the final. Dr Crokes reached the Kerry Senior county final again in 2005 and 2006, but were defeated on both occasions by
South Kingdom. However, South Kingdom are a divisional side and not a club so Dr Crokes qualified to represent the Kerry in the
Munster Senior Club Football Championship. In 2006 Dr Crokes won the Munster Club Championship, beating
The Nire of
Waterford in the final. They advanced to the
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship after beating
Moorefield of
Kildare after a replay in the semi-final, and faced
Crossmaglen of
Armagh in the
2007 All-Ireland Club final. The game finished in a draw. Crossmaglen won the replay to claim their fourth All-Ireland title. In 2010 Cooper played against
Austin Stacks in
Tralee in the Championship final finally giving Dr Crokes the title after the three losses in finals. Cooper and Crokes were back again the year after to win back to back county titles. They secured the Kerry title in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to make it five in a row. In February 2014, Cooper suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the
All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final against
Castlebar Mitchels which kept him out of action for the remainder of 2014. On 27 November 2016, Cooper won his fifth
Munster club title beating the Nire in the final by 3-15 to 0-6 with Cooper scoring two points. Dr Crokes went on to reach the
2017 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Final on 17 March 2017 and won the game against
Slaughtneil by 1-9 to 1-7 at
Croke Park. Cooper scored 1-2 in the final and claimed his first
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship title.
Inter-county Cooper was first called up to the Kingdom team in 2002 and made his
National Football League debut against
Laois. He continued his rise in that year's
Championship, making his debut against
Limerick on 12 May en route to the
2002 All-Ireland final, where they faced
Armagh. Armagh defeated Kerry in the final by 1-12 to 0-14 with Cooper scoring a point. Cooper was awarded his first
All Star award in 2002. In
2003 Kerry won a
Munster Senior Football Championship, but were knocked out of the All-Ireland Championship by
Tyrone at the semi-final stage losing by 0-13 to 0-6. 2004 proved to be a good year for Cooper. Kerry won the
2004 National League, with victory over
Galway in the final on 2 May. They also defended their Munster title, before going on to win the
All-Ireland Championship – beating
Mayo in the final by 1-20 to 2-9. Cooper scored 1–05 in the final, including a goal where he caught a ball and ran at the Mayo defence before slotting the ball low to the net. Cooper received his second All Star in 2004 and was named the
Texaco Footballer of the Year. Kerry won their third consecutive Munster Championship in
2005, beating old rivals
Cork in the decider. Kerry reached an
All-Ireland final, this time against Tyrone. After a bright start, Cooper was injured in a clash with Tyrone goalkeeper
Pascal McConnell which limited his involvement. Tyrone won the game 1–16 to 2–10. Cooper won a third All Star award in 2005. In
the 2006 Championship Cork defeated Kerry in the Munster final. Kerry advanced to the All-Ireland final, where they once again met Mayo. Kerry won the game by 13 points and Cooper was again one of Kerry's main contributors scoring 1–02. He was the Kerry captain for part of that year, although the other captain
Declan O'Sullivan was restored as captain for the All-Ireland final. After winning the game, the
Sam Maguire Cup was lifted by both O' Sullivan and Cooper. In 2007 Cooper played with Kerry regaining their Munster Championship title after an enthralling game against
Cork, which Kerry won 1–15 to 1–13. Having been quiet for long spells, he burst into life and in a five-minute period scored 1–02. After beating
Dublin by two points in the semi-final, Kerry progressed to face their bitter rivals Cork in the first ever all-Munster
All-Ireland final. Kerry comfortably beat Cork 3–13 to 1–09, to become the first team to retain the title since Cork themselves 17 years before. Cooper got the goal that put Kerry in the driving seat, rising to fist the ball over the onrushing
Alan Quirke. Cooper finished the game with 1-05. He received his fourth All Star and was nominated as one of three contenders for 2007
Footballer of the Year. He was also named on the
GPA Team of the Year. Kerry reached the
2008 National League final, but were beaten by
Derry on a 2-13 to 2-9 scoreline. Cork beat Kerry in the
2008 Munster final. Kerry nevertheless advanced to the
2008 All-Ireland final, to face Tyrone for the third time in six years. Tyrone once again came out on top winning by four points. Cooper scored six points in the final and won his fifth All Star award that year and was once again named on the GPA Team of the Year. In
2009, Cooper was dropped from the starting Kerry 15 for the qualifier game against
Antrim on 26 July, due to a breach of team discipline. Cooper came on against Antrim and made an immediate impact notching 4 frees in another win for Kerry. Kerry progressed to face
Dublin in the quarter final on 3 August, a Dublin side who had won their fifth
Leinster Championships in a row. Within a minute Cooper had Kerry in front with a goal and were 1–13 to 0–03 ahead at the break. The game ended with Kerry on top and Cooper silently announcing his return to form with a haul of 1–08. Cooper and Kerry brushed Meath aside in a low-key semi-final before they faced against Cork in the
final. Kerry won the final 0–16 to 1–09, with Cooper scoring six points and winning his fourth All Ireland Medal. In April 2010, Cooper sustained a serious eye injury in an
NFL Division 1 win over
Monaghan. He tore a duct in one of his eyes: doctors in Kerry expressed concern about his condition. He collided with Monaghan defender Darren Hughes after seven minutes and required treatment on and off the field. However, he returned to the Kerry team for the championship. After winning the
Munster Championship, beating
Limerick in the final, Kerry progressed to the All-Ireland quarter final, facing historic rivals
Down but lost by 1-16 to 1-10 with Cooper scoring seven points in the game. The
2011 championship ended in final day disappointment for Cooper. Kerry, in control of the
final having been 4 points up in the closing minutes, succumbed to rivals
Dublin, who outscored Kerry by 1–3 to 1 point in the final stages to win the cup for the first time since 1995. The
2012 championship saw Kerry lose to Cork in the Munster semi-final but go on to play
Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-final on 5 August. Kerry lost the game by 1-12 to 1-10 with Cooper scoring four points. Kerry won the Munster Championship in
2013 with Cooper getting 1-3 in the final on 7 July at
Fitzgerald Stadium. Kerry defeated
Cavan in the All-Ireland quarter-finals before losing to
Dublin in the semi-final by 3-18 to 3-11 with Cooper scoring four points in the game. In February 2014, Cooper suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the
All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final against Castlebar Mitchels which kept him out of action for most of 2014. He was named as a substitute for Kerry in the
2014 All-Ireland Final against Donegal which Kerry went on to win by 2-9 to 0-12. Cooper won his eight Munster Championship medal on 18 July 2015 when Kerry defeated Cork in the final by 1-11 to 1-6 after a replay. They defeated
Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-finals by 7-16 to 0-10 with Cooper getting 2-3 before defeating Tyrone in the semi-final by 0-18 to 1-11, Cooper getting two points. In the
final against Dublin on 20 September, Cooper scored didn't get on the score sheet as Kerry lost by 0-9 to 0-12 in very wet conditions. In
2016, Kerry reached the Munster Final again and played Tipperary, winning by 3-17 to 2-10. Cooper went off injured in the first half of the game with a collarbone injury. He missed the quarter final win against
Clare but returned for the epic semi-final against Dublin on 28 August. Dublin won by 0-22 to 2-14 after coming back from conceding two first half goals. Cooper scored five points in what would turn out to be his last game for Kerry. On the 4 April 2017, Cooper announced his retirement from inter county football at the age of 33. In 85 Championship games for Kerry he scored 23 goals and 283 points, and in 60 league games he scored 12 goals and 165 points.
International rules Cooper has represented
Ireland in the
International Rules Series, in
2005. However, he has declined any invitation to represent Ireland in the hybrid game since, as he claims not to have enjoyed the experience; 2005 was a year when the series was marred by violence and intimidation.
Province Cooper played for
Munster in the
Railway Cup in 2002 and 2004. ==Career statistics==