Galway Gaelic footballer
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
Galway
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 .
External links
Galway squads
Galway – 2013 All-Ireland Under 21 Football Champions (5th win)
Galway – 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship runners-up