Patrick Comerford
Last night's opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics in Paris was beautiful and spectacular choreography, and an imaginative presentation of the Olympic values and principles. Niall Comerford is a young rugby player who played a key role in Ireland’s quest for an Olympic medal in Paris earlier this week as part of the Irish men’s Rugby Sevens. He is currently playing for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup side Leinster, and his preferred position is wing.
The 24-year-old is part of Ireland’s Rugby Sevens Olympic squad, who had their opening games against South Africa and Japan. On Wednesday night – before the games proper began officially – he scored himself a try in the Irish win over Japan, helping secure a quarter-final spot for Ireland.
Niall Comerford’s athletic pedigree is no surprise: his father Philip Comerford is from Co Kilkenny, where he is remembered for his achievements on the hurling field with John Locke’s of Callan. Philip Comerford lives in Kildare and he has been in Paris this week watching his son playing in the biggest sporting event in the world.
Ireland secured place in the quarter-finals of the men’s rugby sevens with wins over South Africa and Japan earlier this week. They were back in action on Thursday (25 July) against top seed New Zealand, when Ireland lost 19-15. Then, later in the day, Ireland faced Fiji in the quarter final, when Fiji came from behind to beat Ireland 19-15 at the Stade de France.
So there were no medal matches for Ireland today; instead Ireland was fighting it out for the minor placings. They have finished higher than the tenth place at Tokyo three years ago but the regrets of what could have been in the fight against Fiji and the battle with New Zealand will linger.
Niall Comerford, who is from Shankill, Co Dublin, was born on 6 April 2000. His first love of sport was in hurling, Gaelic football, and soccer, and one of his first memories is of holding a hurling stick. He played hurling and football with Kilmacud Crokes in his youth, and during his time with Kilmacud Crokes he first met and was coached by Fergal Keys.
He was first introduced to rugby when he entered Blackrock College in 2012. He found it an easy transition, and a good option since Blackrock has no tradition in Gaelic football. He went on to win a Junior Cup at Blackrock in 2016. Over the years, he tried various positions on the team from flanker in first year to winger on the senior cup team.
Leaving Blackrock College in 2019, Niall choose to study Commerce at University College Dublin (UCD), where he received a rugby scholarship, which allowed him to continue playing rugby alongside his studies.
He realised that rugby was more than a hobby and was something he wanted to do long-term. The UCD Ad Astra scholarship provided the student-player with an academic mentor and allowed Niall to split his final year academic load across two years.
During his time at UCD, he joined the Leinster Academy, the next step on his journey with school mates Joe McCarthy and Sean O’Brien and also current 7s squad member Andrew Smith all entering the academy together.
Niall was called to play for the Irish U20s for the first time in the Six Nations 2020, against France. He was thrilled to play for his country, but then Covid hit; it played havoc with everything and in the end the game was cancelled.
With the impact of Covid on all sports during 2020, training had to take place at home. He set up a home gym to stay fit while the Leinster Academy team communicated over Zoom. The Leinster winger made his debut for the Irish Sevens in Vancouver in 2021.
Through the UCD Rugby Club, Niall was put into contact with Ernst & Young (EY), who offered an internship programme for graduates seeking a career in taxation. He joined EY and was able to work on a hybrid basis, balancing rugby and work. However, last December, when the commitment to the rugby 7s training schedule increased, Niall was faced with a decision to playing full-time or not.
In the end, his employers at EY were understanding and effectively allowed him time out to focus on the game with a leave of absence. He has taken a career break to concentrate on the Paris games.
Sevens rugby, often simply called ‘7s’, is a fast-paced variant of rugby in which teams are made up of seven players, playing seven-minute halves, instead of the traditional 15 players playing 40-minute halves in rugby union. There are seven players on the pitch, but 13 squad members travel to each tournament.
It is a quick, high scoring game, and the emphasis is on speed and agility. Players face the same pitch size as the 15s but with fewer players to cover the area.
Niall Comerford is currently playing under head coach James Topping and also credits the support team with the performance of his team. Training is intensive, with the team training four days a week in the high-performance centre in Abbotstown.
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