Through his charity work, John has made a real difference to the local community, and in particular on the life of Raymond who he met through Belfast Central Mission's befriending scheme.
John and Raymond quickly became friends when they met five years ago, and continue to meet regularly for coffees, lunches, and a chat. A combination of a shared love of Ulster Rugby, good sense of humour - and birthdays that are only a couple of days apart - have created a true and lasting friendship between John and Raymond.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are proud to announce the first winners of the new <a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/URC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#URC</a>> Unity Awards 👏<br> <br>⚪️ John Cooney x The Difference Maker Award<br>🐉 <a href="<https://twitter.com/dragonsrugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DragonsRugby</a>> x Community Impact Award<br> <br>The awards recognise their great work within their communities & for charitable causes 🏉<br> <br>Learn more 👇<a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/BKTURC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BKTURC</a></p>&mdash>; BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) <a href="<https://twitter.com/URCOfficial/status/1605503594303733761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December> 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
The awards have been introduced to recognise the great work carried out by players and teams from across the BKT URC within their communities and for charitable causes.
In the Difference Maker category, the other contenders were Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi, of the Cell C Sharks, Emirates Lions forwards Travis Gordon and Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Leinster flanker Alex Soroka and jointly Cardiff Rugby duo Max Llewellyn and Teddy Williams.
The judging panel featured World Cup final referee Nigel Owens, CVC's CSR Manager Jane Howard, Sports Broadcaster Emma Dodds, and URC Head of Operations Amy Monaghan.
As a result of the win, Belfast Central Mission will receive £5,000 from CVC, which the charity has committed to spending on its befriending scheme.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👀 Here is the moment John Cooney found out he had won the Difference Maker Award 👏<br><br>John was recognised for his amazing work with <a href="<https://twitter.com/wearebcmni?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wearebcmni</a>> and will receive £5k from CVC to donate to the charity’s befriending programme 🙌<a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/URC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#URC</a>> <a href="<https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnityAwards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnityAwards</a>> <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UlsterRugby</a>> <a href="<https://t.co/I8gtKAM64T">pic.twitter.com/I8gtKAM64T</a></p>&mdash>; BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) <a href="<https://twitter.com/URCOfficial/status/1608402456580440066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December> 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Head Coach, Dan McFarland, surprised John with the award, with the scrum half thinking he was filming with Raymond, and Janet from BCM, for the nomination.
“I’m shocked to have won the Difference Maker award. The prize money on offer for Belfast Central Mission was the only reason I agreed to being nominated. I knew, especially at this time of the year with all the difficulties in the current climate, that it would go a long way for the charity. The donation will make a real difference to the lives of all those supported by Belfast Central Mission and its befriending service.”
Raymond and Janet from Belfast Central Mission will be cheering John on at the Interpro fixture versus Munster this Sunday (KO 5 30pm) at Kingspan Stadium.
For more info on the BKT United Rugby Championship Unity Awards, visit here.