Andy Comerford

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Andy Comerford

Personal information
Sport	Hurling
Full name	Andrew Comerford
Date of Birth	1972
Place of birth	London, England
Club information
Club	O'Loughlin Gaels
Position	Midfield
Club(s)*
Club	Years	Apps (scores)
Inter County
County	Kilkenny
Position	Midfield
Inter County(ies)**
County	Years	Apps (scores)
Kilkenny	1997-2003
Inter County Titles
Leinster Titles	6
All-Ireland	3
* club appearances and scores correct as of . **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of .

Andy Comerford (born 1972) is a former Irish sportsperson who played hurling with O'Loughlin Gaels and Kilkenny in the 1990s and 2000s.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing career 2.1 Club 2.2 Minor & Under-21 2.3 Senior 3 Teams

[edit] Early life

Andy Comerford was born in London, England in 1972. He spent the first seven years of his life in London before moving to Kilkenny in Ireland. While in London Comerford never saw a game of hurling and his first introduction to the game was when his father made a make-shift hurley for him out of a floorboard. When he was seven years-old the family left London and moved to Kilkenny in Ireland. Here Comerford played hurling with his brothers Jimmy and Martin on the local O'Loughlin Gaels club. He was educated at St. Kieran's College, a famed hurling nursery. His hurling skills quickly earned him a place on the senior team and he won back-to-back All-Ireland colleges titles in 1989 and 1990. Comerford later attended Waterford Regional Technical College where he won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal with the college hurling team in 1992. Shortly after his graduation from college, Comerford moved to London.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Club

Comerford played his club hurling with the O'Loughlin Gaels club in Kilkenny. He had much success at underage levels with the club and later, when he lived in London, he joined the Brother Pearse's Gaelic Athletic Association club. When Comerford returned to Kilkenny he rejoined the O'Loughlin Gaels club, winning Kilkenny SHC titles in 2002 and 2004.

[edit] Minor & Under-21

While still attending St. Kieran's College Comerford joined the Kilkenny minor hurling panel. In 1990 he won an All-Ireland title with the team in a thrilling replay against Cork. By 1993 he was playing with the Kilkenny under-21 team, however, his side were beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland final of that year.

[edit] Senior

In England Comerford joined the London senior hurling team. In 1995 he won an All-Ireland Senior "B" Championship title with the side, defeating Wicklow and New York in the process. This victory allowed London to play in the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship against Down, however, the side lost. In 1996 Comerford returned to Kilkenny and earned a place on the Kilkenny senior hurling panel. He made his debut in the black and amber jersey in 1997 in the Leinster Championship against Dublin. Between 1998 and 2000 Comerford played in three consecutive All-Ireland finals. Kilkenny were defeated by Offaly and Cork in the first two years, however, in 2000 Kilkenny defeated Offaly with a huge score. It was Comerford’s first All-Ireland medal with the seniors. Two years later in 2002 Kilkenny were back in another All-Ireland final and this time Comerford was captain. He guided his side to a comfortable win over Clare and won his second All-Ireland medal in the process. Comerford claimed a third All-Ireland title in 2003 when he came on as a substitute the the final against Cork. He subsequently retired from inter-county hurling.

Preceded by Denis Byrne	Kilkenny Senior Hurling Captain 2002	Succeeded by D.J. Carey
Preceded by Tommy Dunne (Tipperary)	All-Ireland Hurling Final winning captain 2002	Succeeded by D.J. Carey (Kilkenny)

[edit] Teams

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2000 (26th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 W. O'Connor (Capt.) | 5 P. Larkin | 6 E. Kennedy | 7 P. Barry | 8 A. Comerford | 9 B. McEvoy | 10 D. Byrne | 11 J. Power | 12 J. Hoyne | 13 C. Carter | 14 H. Shefflin | 15 D.J. Carey | Subs: C. Brennan | E. Brennan | Manager: B. Cody

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2002 (27th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 P. Larkin | 5 R. Mullally | 6 P. Barry | 7 J.J. Delaney | 8 D. Lynch | 9 A. Comerford | 10 J. Hoyne | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 J. Coogan | 13 E. Brennan | 14 M. Comerford | 15 D.J. Carey | Subs: C. Carter | B. McEvoy | J. Power | Manager: B. Cody

	KIlkenny - All-Ireland Hurling Champions 2003 (28th title)
1 J. McGarry | 2 M. Kavanagh | 3 N. Hickey | 4 J. Ryall | 5 S. Dowling | 6 P. Barry | 7 J.J. Delaney | 8 P. Mullally | 9 D. Lyng | 10 J. Hoyne | 11 H. Shefflin | 12 T. Walsh | 13 D.J. Carey | 14 M. Comerford | 15 E. Brennan | Subs: C. Phelan | R. Mulally | A. Comerford | J. Coogan | Manager: B. Cody