Playing career
St. Kieran's College
During his secondary schooling at St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny, Comerford played in all grades of hurling before joining the college's senior hurling team in his final two years. On 15 April 1989, he lined out at right wing-forward when St. Kieran's College drew 1-07 apiece with Birr CBS in the Leinster final. Comerford retained his position for the replay a week later and claimed his first winners' medal following the 2–11 to 1–09 victory. On 7 May 1989, he won an All-Ireland medal after scoring a vital goal from right wing-forward in the 3–05 to 1–09 defeat of St. Flannan's College in the final.
On 1 April 1990, Comerford won a second successive Leinster Championship medal after a 2–09 to 1–07 defeat of local rivals Kilkenny CBS in the final. On 16 May 1990, he lined out at right wing-forward in a second successive All-Ireland final. Comerford scored three points from play and claimed a second successive winners' medal after the 2–10 to 0–07 defeat of St. Flannan's College.
Waterford Regional Technical College
As a student at the Waterford Regional Technical College, Comerford was a regular on the college senior hurling team. On 8 March 1992, he was listed amongst the substitutes when Waterford RTC faced the University of Limerick in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. Comerford scored two points after coming on as a substitute and claimed a winners' medal after the 1–19 to 1–08 victory.
Brothers Pearse
During his time in London, Comerford joined the Brothers Pearse club. On 24 September 1995, he lined out at centre-back when Brothers Pearse faced St. Gabriel's in the final, but ended the game on the losing side following a 3–07 to 0–12 defeat.
O'Loughlin Gaels
Comerford joined the O'Loughlin Gaels club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. After returning from London, he joined the club's intermediate team at the start of the 1996 Kilkenny Championship. On 20 October 1996, Comerford lined out at midfield when O'Loughlin Gaels faced Graignamanagh in the championship final. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 2–13 to 2–08 victory.
On 15 October 2000, Comerford lined out at centre-back when O'Loughlin Gaels qualified to play Graigue-Ballycallan in the Kilkenny Senior Championship final. He ended the game on the losing side following the 0–16 to 0–09 defeat. [1]
Comerford was appointed captain of the O'Loughin Gaels senior team prior to the start of the 2001 Kilkenny Championship. On 14 October 2001, he captained the team to a second successive final appearance against Graigue-Ballycallan. Comerford ended the game with a winners' medal following a 1–17 to 1–06 victory. [2]
On 26 October 2003, Comerford captained O'Loughlin Gaels to a final appearance against Young Irelands. He lined out at centre-back in the 3–09 to 2–12 draw. [3] On 2 November 2003, Comerford won a second winners' medal after captaining the team to a 2–12 to 2–10 victory in the replay. [4] On 30 November 2003, he won a Leinster Championship medal after captaining O'Loughlin Gaels to a 0–15 to 0–09 defeat of Birr in the final.
On 5 November 2006, Comerford once again captained O'Loughlin Gaels when they qualified to play Ballyhale Shamrocks in the final. He ended the game on the losing side after a 1–22 to 2–11 defeat. [5]
London
Comerford joined the London senior hurling team in advance of the 1994 All-Ireland B Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 3 July 1994 when he lined out at midfield in the All-Ireland final against Roscommon. Comerford ended the game on the losing side following a 1–10 to 1–09 defeat.
On 2 July 1995, Comerford lined out at midfield in a second successive All-Ireland final. He ended the game with a winners' medal following the 2–07 to 0–08 defeat of Wicklow in what was his last game for London.
Kilkenny
Minor and under-21
Comerford first lined out for Kilkenny as a member of the minor team during the 1990 Leinster Championship. On 8 July 1990, he was listed amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny faced Laois in the Leinster final, however, he was introduced as a 36th-minute substitute for team captain James McDermott at midfield. Comerford scored three points and claimed a winners' medal following the 3–15 to 0–15 victory. On 2 September 1990, he lined out at centre-forward when Kilkenny qualified to play Cork in the All-Ireland final but was held scoreless in the 3-14 apiece draw. Comerford retained his place on the starting fifteen for the replay on 30 September 1990, however, he was switched to right wing-forward. He scored two points from play and claimed an All-Ireland medal after the 3–16 to 0–11 victory.
Comerford was added to the Kilkenny under-21 team in advance of the 1993 Leinster Championship. On 31 July 1993, he won a Leinster Championship medal after scoring two points from right wing-forward in the 4–13 to 2–07 defeat of Wexford in the final. Comerford retained his position at right wing-forward for the All-Ireland final on 12 September 1993. He was held scoreless in the 2–14 to 3–11 draw. Comerford was switched to midfield for the replay on 3 October 1993, however, he ended the game on the losing side after a 2–09 to 3–03 defeat.
Senior
Comerford was added to the Kilkenny senior hurling panel during the 1996 Oireachtas Cup. On 1 December 1996, he claimed his first silverware at senior level when he won an Oireachtas Cup medal after lining out at left wing-forward in the 0–11 to 1–04 defeat of Clare.
On 9 March 1997, Comerford made his first appearance in the National League when he lined out at centre-forward in a 3–08 to 2–10 defeat by Limerick. He made his Leinster Championship debut on 22 June 1997 when he scored two points from play in the 2–20 to 2–13 defeat of Dublin. On 13 July 1997, Comerford scored a point from midfield when Kilkenny suffered a 2–14 to 1–11 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final.
On 5 July 1998, Comerford was selected amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny qualified to play Offaly in the Leinster final. He was introduced as a substitute for John Dooley and collected a winners' medal after scoring a point from play in the 3–10 to 1–11 victory. On 13 September 1998, Comerford was back on the starting fifteen and lined out at centre-forward when Kilkenny once again faced Offaly in the All-Ireland final. He scored a point from play before being substituted in the 2–16 to 1–13 defeat. [6]
On 11 July 1999, Comerford won his second Leinster Championship medal after scoring a point from midfield in the 5–14 to 1–16 defeat of Offaly in the final. [7] On 12 September 1999, he was again selected at midfield when Kilkenny qualified for a first All-Ireland final-meeting with Cork in seven years. He scored two points from play but ended the game on the losing side after a 0–13 to 0–12 defeat. [8] Comerford ended the season by winning his first All-Star. [9]
Comerford lined out in a third consecutive Leinster final on 9 July 2000. He scored a point from midfield and claimed a third consecutive winners' medal after the 2–21 to 1–13 defeat of Offaly. [10] Comerford made his third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance on 10 September 2000, with Offaly once again providing the opposition. He scored a point from play and collected his first All-Ireland medal after the 5–15 to 1–14 victory. [11] He ended the season by winning a second successive All-Star award. [12]
On 8 July 2001, Carey made his fourth successive appearance in a Leinster final. Lining out at midfield he collected a fourth winners' medal after the 2–19 to 0–12 defeat of Wexford. [13]
Comerford was appointed captain of the Kilkenny senior team at the start of the 2002 season. [14] On 5 May 2002, he captained Kilkenny to a National League final appearance against Cork. Comerford scored two points from left wing-forward and collected a winners' medal following the 2–15 to 2–14 victory. [15] On 7 July 2002, Comerford captained Kilkenny to a fifth successive Leinster Championship title after a 0–19 to 0–17 defeat of fourteen-man Wexford. [16] On 8 September 2002, Comerford captained Kilkenny to an All-Ireland final appearance against Clare. He ended the game with a second winners' medal and the honour of lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup following the 2–20 to 0–19 victory.
On 5 May 2003, Comerford won a second successive National League medal as a non-playing substitute after Kilkenny's 5–14 to 5–13 defeat of Tipperary in the National League final. [17] On 6 July 2003, he won his sixth successive Leinster Championship medal - albeit as an unused substitute - following the 2–23 to 2–12 defeat of Wexford in the final. [18] On 7 September 2003, Comerford was listed amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny faced Cork in the All-Ireland final. He was introduced as a 60th-minute substitute for James Ryall and collected a third All-Ireland winners' medal after the 1–14 to 1–11 victory. [19] Comerford retired from inter-county hurling following this victory.
Leinster
Comerford also lined out with Leinster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He was captain of his province in 2002 as Leinster defeated an all-Galway Connacht team, giving him a Railway Cup medal.
