Luke Comer had a sniper squad ready to take no prisoners, be they Colemanstown or Craughwell Utd.
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Congrats to @Diabhal and @maurice_brown. Real supporters. Great to see such scenes in the league.
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The Wexford team were at the Plaza when we stopped off on our way home. Got to chat their no 5 who skimmed the crossbar with that shot.
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Congratulations indeed
Engineered and delivered by Johnny C
And Ollie
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Shook his hand earlier this morning and admitted I didn’t see this coming after Waterford in Limerick last year. He smiled smugly and told me “apology accepted”. A gas man who deserves to soak in the plaudits.
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He’s unique
And fair dues to you 
The lads.
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Abbey has just proven herself more knowledgeable than 99% of the association soccer fans on here imo. Her vote of confidence will mean a lot to Caulfield and the gang.
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Billionaire Luke Comer, John Caulfield and Ollie Horgan bringing personality and success back to Galway United
Luke Comer . Photo: Mark Condren
Galway United manager John Caulfield (right) and his assistant Ollie Horgan. Photo: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Luke Comer . Photo: Mark Condren
Galway United manager John Caulfield (right) and his assistant Ollie Horgan. Photo: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Daniel McDonnell
Yesterday at 09:58
It was close to two hours after full-time in Galway United’s FAI Cup defeat to Bohemians last month when the final stragglers made their way out of Eamonn Deacy Park. Luke Comer was amongst them.
Post-game, the billionaire developer had decamped to the small bar next to the main stand to mingle with fans and various figures involved in the club. They know he is a man to keep on side. Funds provided by Comer and his brother Brian, the Glenamaddy duo who started from nothing before making it big in Britain, have helped propel the Tribesmen towards promotion to the Premier Division.
His contribution is small money in terms of his other interests – including the fortunes he has put into his stud farm operation – but big money to the beneficiaries. The Comers have been to Eamonn Deacy Park more than half a dozen times this term, yet they are not consumed by their commitment either, content to be giving back to their community in the sporting sphere. They regularly make headlines in Galway in this department.
Comer’s crew at the game included another brother, Billy, who made the news himself by winning the Lotto in 1994 – the family life story would be quite a read – who jokes that Connacht Rugby will be the next venture. They had planned to build a hockey centre of excellence as part of a plan to construct a new training base for Galway in Athenry but planning permission was refused.
In the aftermath of the Bohs encounter, Comer was holding court on a variety of topics, in particular his recent three-year ban from training horses due to positive drug tests. Comer has lodged an appeal and stated publicly that he is “entirely innocent.”
Part of his defence centred around the fact that he only spends three months a year in Ireland as he is a resident in Monaco. We haven’t heard the last of that case but, either way, the Comer-backed Galway will be a fascinating addition to the Premier Division next year. A recent interview with the Business Post offered an insight to Comer’s attitude.
“Galway United needed someone to bail them out, basically; the boys running the club are persuasive so I have been involved for some time,” he said.
“We’ve put in an awful lot of money – you’re talking the best part of a million every year at this stage and the club wants more as we’re now Premier Division
“If I were in soccer to make money, I’d not be making much money put it that way. We’ll stay involved unless somebody wants to come in and buy the club for a fortune!”
There’s a carefree tone to the delivery that is at odds with the serious language used by the other ‘investors’ that have emerged at an interesting time for the game here with North American-led takeovers of both Drogheda United and Treaty United in the past month.
In every aspect of their club, Galway have a different personality; a combination of experienced management backed by developers money is almost like a throwback to another time. At a time when the League of Ireland has become the second youngest in Europe, with rookie managers very much in vogue, Galway are leaning on life experience.
The front men for their promotion charge are a case in point.
John Caulfield is guaranteed to increase the average age of the Premier Division manager in 2024. It currently stands at 41. Caulfield, who has just turned 59, is enjoying a new football chapter after the turbulent end to his successful reign at Cork City. After failing to win promotion with United last term and coming under pressure he turned to a seasoned manager synonymous with another club as his new assistant.
Galwegian Ollie Horgan (55) had just parted ways with Finn Harps. Together with Caulfield, he has formed an unlikely double act with veteran goalkeeper Brendan Clarke, a new recruit for this season, quipping before the Bohs match that Amazon should be building a documentary around the dynamic in the dressing-room and the sideline.
They are a force of nature in full flight, a manic presence that let the players and the officials know where they stand. “I’ve bit my tongue for ten years,” said Horgan, after Galway weren’t awarded a late penalty against Bohs. Most fourth officials in the country would say otherwise.
The endearing language used about the characters involved risks underestimating their intensely competitive streak. While supporters will enjoy their trips west next term, players may not find it as accommodating with Galway’s aggressive and direct approach a complete contrast from the style of play preferred by most top-flight sides right now.
There is no grey area in the dressing-room about who is boss. Various sources confirm that Caulfield runs the show, but Horgan is active on the training pitch in terms of bringing opposition analysis to life and he also lightens the load in terms of press commitments. After the Bohs game, Horgan explained to travelling media that they could speak to him or wait for Caulfield but it could be a long wait because he was busy.
Horgan was mid-interview when Caulfield was spotted leaving in the distance with a bag over his shoulder.
Players have cited the influence of Chris Collopy, an emerging coach in his 20s, who represents a voice from the modern coaching pathway to give the staff a balance. Long-serving directors feel they’ve hit on the right formula, although there is a pragmatism to predictions about what comes next despite the increased footfall that has accompanied success.
“The number of season tickets we sell will give us a marker of where we are,” says club director Jonathan Corbett, who was also shadowing Comer on his social gathering. “We’re going to lose matches, it’s not going to be the same as what we did this year (Galway won every home league game) – the first thing we need to do is stay up.”
A major encouragement attendance wise is the age profile of the crowd in a city where there are a lot of alternative attractions. “We never sold family tickets before,” Corbett stresses, “Now we’re selling multiples of them, it’s just about keeping them.”
He asserts that Caulfield ticks the managerial box on a number of levels and it goes beyond the first-team results. The recent history of football in Galway is chequered; a decade has passed since Mervue United and Salthill Devon were representing the city while the main club was in no-man’s land, returning as Galway FC with an uneasy truce involving the respective parties. Relations were strained with suspicion levels high.
“All that stuff has been cleared up and he’s a big part of it now,” Corbett continues. “(Caulfield) goes to local matches, he’s based in Galway now, he lives here full-time, he just has that small bit more experience of different situations than some of our previous managers. Galway is not an easy job. John has brought us to the next level and we’re two years ahead of where we thought we would be.”
Corbett states that the complications around the club’s bigger picture is a familiar one nationwide. Facilities are the key to progress; Galway train in Salthill Devon’s facility and there are costs involved in finding space for all of their underage sides. Meanwhile, advanced negotiations with the Galway FA to take over the long-term lease of Eamonn Deacy Park are ongoing; that will give them freedom to seek funding for improvements.
“We don’t have a TV deal in this country,” he continues. “We were told we were going to get it before but it never happened. The biggest problem we have in this country is facilities; if Government were to invest a ringfenced amount of money into that, they would be on a winner like they wouldn’t believe. Our league requires money and outside investment because, as it stands now, it’s not working.”
Hence the reliance on the benefactors and the importance of gentle persuasion. “Every year we have several conversations,” Corbett continues. “It’s always been about making sure we don’t overspend. They (Comers) know we will need to increase what we’re doing at the moment. They trust us, they trust the board of management because everything we said we would do, we’ve done it. They’re not in it to make money, but we always make sure they are involved.”
The next step of the relationship should make for interesting viewing.
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Alex Murphy went from playing second tier for GUFC in July 2022 to making an absolute mug out of the anti-Irish Chelsea just a mere 16 months later.
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Any money for Galway for his debut
I dunno do they get anything for a debut but I heard if he made 5 appearance in all comps for the seniors there’s something close to an alleged 6 figure payoff and then they’d have a percentage of any sale for him.
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Great stuff
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The Comer’s will have GUFC purring
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It’s just nice to know that my regular attendance at my local club helped a lad make a Premier League debut. Not too many posters on here would know that feeling.
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Yep, lads will be desperate to see him play now but wouldnt watch when he was in their local ground
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It’s brilliant to see. Seeing Ogbene go from Markets Field to an assist today
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