Damien Comer
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Damien Ó Ciaragáin | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Full Forward | ||
| Born |
11 January 1994 Galway, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Occupation | Secondary school teacher | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2012– | Annaghdown | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2014– | Galway | 37 (11-48) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 3 | ||
| NFL | 1 (Div.2) | ||
| All Stars | 1 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 23 April 2023. | |||
Damien Comer (born 11 January 1994) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Annaghdown and at senior level for the Galway county team.
Early life and playing career
Comer is a former pupil of St Jarlath's College in Tuam, and also a graduate of NUI Galway, with whom he reached the 2018 Sigerson Cup final.[1]
Comer did not play for Galway at minor level.[2]
He was a member of the Galway team that won the Under-21 Championship in 2013.[3] He made his senior Championship debut in 2014, when he came on as a substitute against London in the Connacht Championship.[4] Comer was part of the Galway team that won the 2016 Connacht Championship. He started all of the team's games as the county won its first Connacht title since 2008.[5][6]
Personal life
Comer completed a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and a Master's degree in Teacher Education and Professional Development between 2016 and 2018.[7][8]
He is a science and maths teacher at Coláiste Bhaile Chláir in Claregalway and spoke about the difficulty of teaching from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[9][10] His fellow teammate Paul Conroy also teaches in the school.[9]
Comer is in a long term relationship with his girlfriend Megan Glynn.[7]
Career statistics
- As of match played 23 April 2023
| Team | Year | National League | Connacht | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Galway | 2014 | Division 2 | 2 | 0-00 | 3 | 0-01 | 2 | 0-02 | 7 | 0-03 |
| 2015 | 5 | 1-07 | 3 | 2-06 | 3 | 1-03 | 11 | 4-16 | ||
| 2016 | 7 | 4-10 | 3 | 0-05 | 1 | 1-00 | 11 | 5-15 | ||
| 2017 | 3 | 1-02 | 2 | 0-04 | 2 | 0-01 | 7 | 1-07 | ||
| 2018 | Division 1 | 7 | 1-14 | 3 | 2-06 | 4 | 1-06 | 14 | 4-26 | |
| 2019 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 | ||
| 2020 | 6 | 0-06 | 1 | 0-00 | - | 7 | 0-06 | |||
| 2021 | 2 | 0-02 | 2 | 1-01 | - | 4 | 1-03 | |||
| 2022 | Division 2 | 6 | 4-11 | 3 | 0-04 | 3 | 2-05 | 12 | 6-20 | |
| 2023 | Division 1 | 4 | 0-04 | 1 | 1-04 | 5 | 1-08 | |||
| Career total | 42 | 11-56 | 21 | 6-31 | 16 | 5-17 | 79 | 22-104 | ||
Honours
- Annaghdown
- Connacht Junior Club Hurling Championship: 2014
- Galway Junior A Hurling Championship: 2014
- Galway
- Connacht Senior Football Championship: 2016, 2018 (c), 2022
- National Football League Division 2: 2017
- All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship: 2013
- Connacht Under-21 Football Championship: 2013
- Individual
References
- ^ Fallon, John (14 February 2018). "NUI Galway reach first Sigerson final in 15 years". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018.
- ^ "Damien Comer's return a huge addition to Galway's arsenal". Sunday Independent. 30 May 2021.
It was during [Alan] Mulholland's time as manager, immediately before Kevin Walsh, that Comer was introduced to the senior inter-county set-up. He was a late bloomer, not having made the county minor squad and also not involved in the St Jarlath's Hogan Cup final side of 2011... [Mulholland:] 'He wasn't in the system from an early age. So Alan [Flynn] brought him into that under 21 team in 2013. That was his first taste of football at county level'.
- ^ "Tribesmen claim All-Ireland Under 21 crown". RTÉ. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Galway cruise past Exile challenge". RTÉ. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Wait for a Connacht title 'far too long', says O'Donnell". Hoganstand.com. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "Galway finally going places, says former captain Ray Silke". RTÉ. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ a b Bannon Ward, Shauna (9 July 2022). "Galway football star Damien Comer: Relationship with girlfriend Megan and life as teacher". RSVPLive.ie. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ Duffy, Emma (18 January 2018). "'A full-time job' - Demands on players and career choices to facilitate inter-county life". The 42. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ a b Keys, Colm (14 June 2019). "Comer: Our game expanding but defensive roots won't be dug up". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ Damien Comer [@DamoComer] (18 March 2020). "This teaching from home is not as easy as it seems! Yes they are 2 pool ques holding up my surface device 🙈 #remoteteaching #TeachingOnline #Microsoftteams #videocall @ClaregalwayColl @CbcTeaching" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 July 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Roche, Frank (27 October 2022). "Kerry lead way as 11 rookie All Stars signal the changing landscape". Irish Independent.