It's just over six weeks since Jonny Cooper called time on his inter-county career with Dublin. In his 11 years wearing the navy and blue, Cooper won seven All-Ireland senior titles and was twice selected as an All Star. He also captained his county.
A dual player at the underage grades, Cooper won a Leinster minor hurling title with Dublin in 2007 before concentrating on football at senior level.
He captained the Dublin Under-21s to All-Ireland glory in 2010 but was outside the fold when the seniors captured a long-awaited senior title in 2011 and was only a peripheral presence in the 2012 campaign.
Jim Gavin's ascension to the post of senior manager catapulted Cooper into the starting XV.
As a student in DCU, Cooper was twice on Sigerson Cup winning teams and ahead of this year's final on Wednesday between UL and UCC, he spoke to the media about a career that has had many ups and a few downs.
On his decision to end his Dublin tenure at the age of 33, Cooper seems very much at ease with his call.
"No, no regrets, zero regret," he said.
"It was the right decision for a few different reasons. Definitely nothing there, it's more just you're doing something for 11 years or whatever it might be, so there's certain norms there and certain connections - and look, my relationship and connection and friendship with all of them outlives wearing a blue jersey, so that stand is just different.
"It's not what I'm used to this time of the year. But absolutely, no regrets for me and the right decision for me and right decision for the team if I'm being honest about it."
When asked whether or not there was a particular moment that prompted his decision to walk away, Cooper highlighted a level of effort that he could no longer reach.
He explained: "When you look at it in terms of kicking on 15% more, elevating my game and whether or not I can influence, then you ask yourself the question.
"I was lucky enough to be a player and a captain but there are a few different angles to it. I was lucky enough to get to 2022 and kick on. Then there was the clinical and cold answer that I couldn't do it again [this year]; I couldn't get to the level the guys have set.
"For me I can't stand behind something if you can't get to that 15% more that the guys have set, and rightly set, well I'm at ease from that point of view."
The friendships that Cooper made during his inter-county career are more nuggets to take away from the battles he had, both on and off the field.
Summing up a rollercoaster tenure, he added: "It's one [journey] that I'm massively appreciative of. My parents, siblings, coaches in Na Fianna - it's a reflection on their time and effort. It was a great journey, great ups and great downs along the way in terms of learnings.
"At times you were on the floor and you didn't think you could get up the next day, but of course you can. Your team-mates are there. And then you have the high moments, the profound, moments money couldn't buy.
"A fantastic opportunity to engage not just with people inside the circle in Dublin, but those that were outside. I was really fortunate to engage with many different sports that are out there. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to learn in many different ways going forward."
Cooper also referenced the knife attack on him in 2014 and how that traumatic moment helped shape his career in the years that followed.
"They key learning was off the pitch in 2014 and the attack. I was milimetres from it all being gone and finished. That was a big turning point for me. It was an experience that I tried to take forward, both on and off the pitch in 2015 and up until recently.
"I spoke to you guys a couple of times about my ego. I was out the night we lost to Donegal [All-Ireland semi-final] and I felt my preparation for the game was quite poor on reflection. I was playing centre back and it was one of the reasons why they scored [three goals].
"You keep root-causing it; a lot of learnings from a preparation point of view. At that point I was being carried as opposed to showing, pointing and influencing the direction. I would go on to be captain of Dublin, so I after that attack key performance and preparation blocks were put in place, all stuff for me to build on."
It's early in the year and the now former Dublin defender has only watched about 15 minutes of Dessie Farrell's team in action from their first two league games. Little to get excited about yet, but as the days get longer and the championship nears, that will change and Cooper is curious to see what team will emerge in a few months.
"I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to watch those league games [live]. And that's no disrespect or anything, I'm just busy with the club and other things, so letting the lads do their thing.
"The league is the league - certain type of weather, going through a certain type of training I'm sure in phase and block, so what you're looking and seeing and feeling now is always going to be very, very different come the summer, but in saying that, I'm sure they're looking to build some layers and possibly find some new bodies and have as much competition as possible.
"As I said, I haven't seen them play much this year - probably about 15 minutes of the first game, it was a winter's night in some ways. Look, I'm very excited for Dublin. It remains to be seen - the Kerrys and the Galways and some usual suspects are always going to be knocking around, but I'm sure the lads will be enjoying it. I'm sure they're in the shadows as we speak, doing various different pieces of training and so on to put themselves in the best possible position. Definitely excited to see what's going to come, and obviously support them and back them."
Much has been written and said regarding the scheduling of the Sigerson Cup, with Meath manager Colm O'Rourke saying that something has to be done about what he deemed the "abuse of players".
Cooper sees great value in the competition and is grateful for "the social insight and the different views of the world" when playing alongside players from other counties. However, he's not sure whether the competition can have a set window in the calendar.
"Can they ringfence it? Probably not. There are massive things at stake in the inter-county scene; managers and coaches want their players out of sight and out of mind, which wasn't the case when we were involved. Maybe giving trust back to the players could be one small solution they could work on. I just hope the competition continues to get the respect it deserves."
