On 13 April 2009, Cooney captained the team to the All-Ireland Championship after lining out at midfield in the 3-18 to 1-14 defeat of Roscrea Community School.

He made his first appearance for the team on 25 July 2009 when he scored a point from left wing-back in a 4-23 to 0-10 defeat of Antrim.

He made his first appearance for the team on 21 August 2010 when he was introduced as a substitute in Galway's 2-14 to 1-10 defeat of Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final.

[9] On 8 July 2012, Cooney won a Leinster Championship medal in his debut game after coming on as a substitute for Cyril Donnellan in a 2-21 to 2-12 defeat of Kilkenny in the final.

[10] On 9 September 2012, he started the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny on the bench but was introduced as a substitute for Niall Burke in the 0-19 to 2-13 draw.

[12] On 7 July 2013, Cooney lined out at left wing-back when Galway suffered a 2-25 to 2-13 defeat by Dublin in the Leinster final.

[14] On 6 September 2015, Cooney was an unused substitute when Galway suffered a 1-22 to 1-18 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.

[16] On 22 April 2017, Cooney lined out at left wing-forward when Galway faced Tipperary in the National League final.

[19][20] On 1 July 2018, Cooney scored a point from play in Galway's 0-18 apiece draw with Kilkenny in the Leinster final.

He made his final appearance in the competition on 15 December 2016 when he scored a goal in a 1-14 to 1-12 defeat by Leinster in the semi-final.