Damien Comer (born 11 January 1994) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Annaghdown and at senior level for the Galway county team.
| 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. | |||
Early life and playing career
editComer 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
editComer 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
edit- 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ 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.