Latest news with #Comerford
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Intrepid Cormac Comerford channeling Shackleton spirit on road towards 2026 Winter Olympics
While the distance from his Italian training base to the site of next year's Winter Olympics may not be the farthest to traverse, the road towards Milano-Cortina 2026 has been a long and unlikely one for alpine skier Cormac Comerford. If neither Fiji nor Fermanagh are hurling strongholds then it would be fair to say that Glenageary in south Dublin wouldn't be a likely cradle for a Winter Olympian. But when next February rolls around, Comerford will feel that all the sacrifices and hardships have been worth it when he dons the green Team Ireland race suit on the alpine slopes of Bormio. Becoming an Olympian would be the apogee of a dream that was sparked at the age of eight when he followed his parents and family friends to Kilternan for an Oktoberfest open day at Ireland's largest artificial ski slope. "I just got obsessed. I loved any kind of outdoor sport. I was into GAA, I played with Cuala. In the summers we'd go surfing and sailing and then when I found skiing I just fell madly in love," Comerford recalls. "We did a few ski holidays and then it just all snowballed from there. I started racing up at the ski club in Kilternan and eventually went further and further abroad to race internationally." While he was only tackling the baby slopes in that initial introduction, an immediate and ineradicable imprint was left on his psyche. "There's nothing like it. It's probably as close as you can get to flying without actually flying," he says of the sensation of zooming and twisting downhill at speeds of up to 140 kilometres per hour. Helpfully, 2010 Winter Olympian Shane O'Connor was also a source of inspiration, proving to him that an Irish alpine skier could compete at the highest level. "His impact on me was huge. Seeing somebody from the local area, from Dublin, from Ireland, with no snow, no nothing, be able to go from a small 200m plastic slope to competing in the biggest races at World Championships and the Olympics, that really said a lot to me and it inspired me to really push myself and to reach that level and then also exceed that," Comerford tells RTÉ Sport. And push himself he has most certainly had to over the last two decades. In the past, he has been candid about how far he had to penny-pinch finite resources on the road, like sleeping on bus station floors, all in a bid to keep the trajectory of becoming an Olympian on the right track. Many would have long given up by now. But not Comerford whose spirit was never dampened, citing Kildare-born Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. "I've always had this sense of adventure and desire to go somewhere that hasn't been before," he reasons. "I love the story of Shackleton going down to Antarctica, going into the complete unknown and looking back on it now, they were clueless really and their preparations were terrible but he had this crazy goal to do something that was never done before and those are the stories that kind of inspired me when I was younger and the idea of an Olympics." The burden has been lifted somewhat ahead of the Olympics, where Ireland will have a male and a female quota place each in alpine skiing. An Olympic Federation of Ireland scholarship grant has been "a huge help, especially for the preparations for the Olympics", according to Comerford. "That Olympic scholarship really helps boost opportunities like pre-Olympics. And that's a big thing I'll be pushing now this summer, is trying to garner more support to have a really full programme leading up to Games." The other help has been through his day job as a mechanical engineer. "With the support of Sport Ireland, we reached out to their network and when I graduated, I got in touch with some companies and I've been lucky enough to land a job with Atlantic Projects Company," he says. "They're a mechanical engineering company based in Limerick. They've been really supportive. I've been able to progress in my mechanical engineering career while I have time away from snow." Comerford is qualified for four disciplines at the Games: slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill. By his own admission, slalom would be his forte, main focus and the one he has an ambitious target for. "That's what I've naturally kind of excelled at and that's the one where I'm ranked in the top, I think it's 5-6% in the world at the moment," he says. "My big goal for the Olympics is I'd love to make a top 30. I'm preparing for a full Olympics and ideally a top 30, that would be a great achievement for me." Helpfully, Comerford is based in Italy for portions of the year which means the trials and tribulations that the Olympic venue in Bormio will provide is not alien to him. "I've been based in the winters in Italy for about seven, eight years but I usually base myself in the Dolomites area which is really great for me," he says. "I've skied on all the slopes where the Olympics will be so that's an added advantage. I kind of know the area, I know the country, I know the culture so that'll be a big advantage going into these Games. "Bormio, where men's alpine is going to be based, that's a serious downhill and super-G slope. It's probably considered the most dangerous downhill slope on the World Cup circuit. I think last year there were some serious injuries. So it will be demanding. "I've raced there when I was younger in some international races on the lower section for slalom and giant slalom. So I have a bit of experience on the slope. But as far as the super-G and downhill, I haven't raced there. But we'll have some training just coming up to the races and that will be the true test."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers decry FirstLight dam's 300-gallon oil spill into Conn. River
TURNERS FALLS — FirstLight's Turners Falls hydroelectric operations leaked 300 gallons of hydraulic fluid into the Connecticut River on Tuesday evening, according to a statement from state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield. Comerford was notified of the spill by Firstlight, according to Comerford's spokesperson. This is the fourth spill lawmakers know of since 2021 at Firstlight hydroelectric facilities and comes as the company seeks relicensing from the federal government. 'We also urge Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to hold FirstLight accountable by reviewing prior infractions and taking the steps necessary to ensure compliance with environmental requirements and to deter future violations,' Comerford and Blais said in a joint statement. FirstLight's team told Comerford they are actively investigating the problem, and that the company is on track this summer to undertake an overhaul of the bascule gate system that caused the leaks. Bascule gates regulate water flow through a dam using a drawbridge-like system, lowering a gate to open the flow and raising it to close. In a statement, FirstLight said there was a sudden failure in the hydraulic system that supports the pistons below one of its four water gates. Three other gates have been inspected and are working as intended. Firstlight said its system has been stabilized, and there are no indications of an ongoing release of hydraulic fluid. FirstLight's team is deploying absorbent booms in areas where an oil sheen is visible in the water and will actively monitor the area until the problem is fully resolved. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection already has issued a 401 Water Quality Certificate as part of FirstLight's federal relicensing process. Western New England University names interim president Ironman race expected to bring $2M boost to WMass With sale of Borinquen Apartments, New England Farm Workers Council pays off debt to state over misspent money Read the original article on MassLive.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA star jailed for sexual assault following 'very bizarre' act after night out
A former Clare county minor gaelic football captain has been jailed for two years and four months for the sexual assault of a woman. At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed the 28 month prison term on Conor Gavin (32) of Paradise, Ballynacally, Co Clare for the sexual assault of the woman at a house in Co Clare on July 18, 2021. The sentencing hearing was told that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor gaelic football team in 2011 and has also coached in recent years. Mr Gavin is a first time offender and in sentencing, Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman after making the 'very bizarre', 'inappropriate' and 'not rational' decision to strip down to his shorts and get into a bed – uninvited – with two women. Mr Gavin had returned to the house with friends after a night out. Judge Comerford said: 'There isn't much scope for rehabilitation when one doesn't accept that there is an offence.' Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin will be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register and will 'suffer all of the disgrace that someone receives who has committed a sexual offence'. Judge Comerford said that there is limited mitigation in the case as Mr Gavin has not expressed any remorse for his offence or apologised to the victim. Judge Comerford said that no indication of any apology at any stage 'accentuates the harm done by this offending'. Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin is still in denial over the 'serious offence'. Judge Comerford said that it was not a planned sexual assault and was opportunistic. Mr Gavin denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury in February. In her victim impact statement, the injured party told the court that she is hopeful that after today 'I will be able to move on with my life and close this chapter of what I can only describe as a horror story I never asked to be part of'. Reading from the statement in court, she said: 'All I ever wanted was an apology and for Conor Gavin to admit what he had done to me and say sorry. I never got that and that is really hard. Conor Gavin had the audacity to take the stand during the trial and deny what was done to me. That to me is unacceptable and leaves a detrimental impact on my mental health.' Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman in July 2021 and in her victim impact statement, the woman said: 'The past four years have been extremely exhausting. I have felt the greatest deal of shame one could possibly imagine and although I know what happened to me was not my fault, it is still a feeling that I cannot shake. She said: 'I have a tremendous amount of anger which I'm unsure if I will ever fully be able to let go of…It is an extremely bitter pill to swallow having to accept that this is something I will never be able to erase from my memory and something that I will carry with me forever. I lost a part of myself that night which I don't believe that I will ever get back." The woman said that almost four years ago on July 18, 2021, her whole word was turned upside down when she was sexually assaulted by Conor Gavin. She said: 'An unprovoked assault which should never have happened.' The woman said that having to write the victim impact statement she has 'to relive the biggest nightmare of my life' but added 'I am however going to take this opportunity to have my voice heard'. The woman said that after the assault 'I was in a complete state of shock and disbelief. I could not and did not want to believe that something like this had happened to me'. On the impact that the sexual assault had on her, the woman said: 'My self esteem shattered into a million pieces, and my self confidence was non-existent…I was a complete shell of myself'. The woman said that she also suffered from panic attacks as a result of the assault. The woman paid tribute to her boyfriend for his support since the sexual assault. In sentencing, Judge Comerford said that the offence involved the digital penetration of a vagina which he said was 'high on the scale of intensity'. Counsel for Mr Gavin, Patrick Whyms BL said that his client accepts the jury's verdict and will not appeal the jury verdict. Mr Whyms said that on the night Mr Gavin had six pints in the pub and brought cans of Bulmer's cider back to the house. Mr Whyms said his client consumed a lot of drink and his drinking 'must have been a factor in the poor decision making to go into the bedroom, take off most of his clothing and get into the bed with two female persons'. Mr Whyms said that the DPP had directed that the case could be dealt with in the district court on a plea of guilty only. Mr Whyms said that Mr Gavin has a good work history and currently works at a manufacturing plant in Shannon. Mr Whyms said that it is in the public domain that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor football team in 2011.
Sunday World
30-05-2025
- Sunday World
Former GAA minor captain jailed for sexual assault of woman after night out
Judge Comerford said that Conor Gavin sexually assaulted the woman after making the 'very bizarre', 'inappropriate' and 'not rational' decision to strip down to his shorts and get into a bed with two women. A former Clare county minor gaelic football captain has been jailed for two years and four months for the sexual assault of a woman. At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed the 28 month prison term on Conor Gavin (32) of Paradise, Ballynacally, Co Clare for the sexual assault of the woman at a house in Co Clare on July 18th 2021. The sentencing hearing was told that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor gaelic football team in 2011 and has also coached in recent years. Mr Gavin is a first time offender and in sentencing, Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman after making the 'very bizarre', 'inappropriate' and 'not rational' decision to strip down to his shorts and get into a bed – uninvited – with two women. Mr Gavin had returned to the house with friends after a night out. GAA stock image: sportsfile. News in 90 Seconds - May 30th Judge Comerford said: 'There isn't much scope for rehabilitation when one doesn't accept that there is an offence.' He added that that Mr Gavin will be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register and will 'suffer all of the disgrace that someone receives who has committed a sexual offence'. Judge Comerford said that there is limited mitigation in the case as Mr Gavin has not expressed any remorse for his offence or apologised to the victim. The judge also said that no indication of any apology at any stage 'accentuates the harm done by this offending'. Judge Comerford said that Mr Gavin is still in denial over the 'serious offence'. Judge Comerford said that it was not a planned sexual assault and was opportunistic. Mr Gavin denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury in February. In her victim impact statement, the injured party told the court that she is hopeful that after today 'I will be able to move on with my life and close this chapter of what I can only describe as a horror story I never asked to be part of'. Reading from the statement in court, she said: 'All I ever wanted was an apology and for Conor Gavin to admit what he had done to me and say sorry. 'I never got that and that is really hard. Conor Gavin had the audacity to take the stand during the trial and deny what was done to me. That to me is unacceptable and leaves a detrimental impact on my mental health.' Mr Gavin sexually assaulted the woman in July 2021 and in her victim impact statement, the woman said: 'The past four years have been extremely exhausting. I have felt the greatest deal of shame one could possibly imagine and although I know what happened to me was not my fault, it is still a feeling that I cannot shake. She said: 'I have a tremendous amount of anger which I'm unsure if I will ever fully be able to let go of…It is an extremely bitter pill to swallow having to accept that this is something I will never be able to erase from my memory and something that I will carry with me forever. I lost a part of myself that night which I don't believe that I will ever get back. The woman said that almost four years ago on July 18th 2021, her whole word was turned upside down when she was sexually assaulted by Conor Gavin. She said: 'An unprovoked assault which should never have happened.' The woman said that having to write the victim impact statement she has 'to relive the biggest nightmare of my life' but added 'I am however going to take this opportunity to have my voice heard'. The woman said that after the assault 'I was in a complete state of shock and disbelief. I could not and did not want to believe that something like this had happened to me'. On the impact that the sexual assault had on her, the woman said: 'My self esteem shattered into a million pieces, and my self confidence was non-existent…I was a complete shell of myself'. The woman said that she also suffered from panic attacks as a result of the assault. The woman paid tribute to her boyfriend for his support since the sexual assault. In sentencing, Judge Comerford said that the offence involved the digital penetration of a vagina which he said was 'high on the scale of intensity'. Counsel for Mr Gavin, Patrick Whyms BL said that his client accepts the jury's verdict and will not appeal the jury verdict. Mr Whyms said that on the night Mr Gavin had six pints in the pub and brought cans of Bulmer's cider back to the house. He said his client consumed a lot of drink and his drinking 'must have been a factor in the poor decision making to go into the bedroom, take off most of his clothing and get into the bed with two female persons'. He added said that the DPP had directed that the case could be dealt with in the district court on a plea of guilty only. Mr Whyms said that Mr Gavin has a good work history and currently works at a manufacturing plant in Shannon. Mr Whyms said that it is in the public domain that Mr Gavin captained the Clare minor football team in 2011.
Japan Today
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Former White House chef for 5 presidents says first families are 'just regular people' at home
FILE - White House executive chef Cris Comerford, holds dishes as she speaks during a media preview for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Nov. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Cristeta Comerford, a longtime White House executive chef who recently retired after nearly three decades of preparing meals for five presidents and their guests, says first families are 'just regular people' when they're at home in the private living areas of the Executive Mansion. 'It's not what you see on the news,' she told The Associated Press in an interview. Preparing the first families' meals was among Comerford's many culinary responsibilities. Meals mostly would be prepared in the main kitchen, then finished off in the residence kitchen on the second floor. 'At the end of the day, when you do the family meals upstairs, they're just regular people at home. They just want a good meal. They want to sit down with their family,' she said. "If they have children, they eat together. And just to see that on a daily basis, it's not what you see on the news. 'It's the other side of them that we get to see," she said. Comerford, who hung up her apron and chef's toque in July 2024 after nearly 20 years as top chef and nearly three decades on the kitchen staff, is the longest-serving chef in White House history. Her tenure spanned the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Each of the five families she served approached food differently, Comerford said at a recent White House Historical Association symposium on food and wine. She was asked whether she'd describe any of the presidents as 'real foodies.' The Clintons liked healthier meals, Comerford said. Then-first lady Hillary Clinton hired the first American executive chef, Walter Scheib, and had the kitchen avoid serving heavy sauces and creams. She said, 'I learned so much' about Southwestern cuisine from Bush, the former Texas governor who liked Tex-Mex food. 'We made thousands of tamales for Christmas,' she said of the popular Mexican meal of stuffed corn dough wrapped in a corn husk and steamed until cooked. Comerford got ideas from the vegetable garden Michelle Obama started when she was promoting healthy eating, primarily for children. "We used the garden as kind of like our backbone for our menu development,' she said. Trump and first lady Melania Trump are 'very, very classic eaters,' she said. Mrs. Trump 'loved Italian food, so we tend to do the pastas, but light ones.' Comerford didn't comment on President Trump's food choices, but he is known to like a well-done steak served with ketchup and fast food. Jill Biden was the first Italian American first lady, and the kitchen did 'a lot of Italian food, as well, because she loved Italian food.' Overall, 'it's different for each family,' said Comerford, "but my job as the chef is to execute their style, their likes and their preferences.' A black-tie state dinner is the highest diplomatic honor the U.S. reserves for its close allies. Comerford presided over 54 of these opulent affairs, including for France and Australia during Trump's first term. Sometimes, guest chefs were brought in to help. State dinners give presidents the opportunity to bring together hundreds of guests from the worlds of government, politics and other industries for an evening in which the three-course meal, decor and entertainment are designed to help foster relations by dazzling the visiting foreign leader. The first lady's staff and the social secretary typically have about two months to pull one together. Comerford said her team started by researching the visiting leader's likes and dislikes, then she used the information to create a menu using the best of American food while incorporating nuances from the country being recognized. She'd develop at least three different menus. Then came tastings for the first lady to make a final decision. Comerford, 62, started her career tending a salad bar at a Chicago airport hotel before working as a chef at restaurants in Austria and Washington. Scheib, then the White House executive chef, hired her in 1994 for a temporary gig preparing a state dinner for Nelson Mandela, South Africa's newly elected president. Scheib then hired her as an assistant chef in 1995, and she succeeded him a decade later, becoming the first woman and first person of color to permanently hold the executive chef's position. Comerford is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the Philippines. Her husband, John Comerford, is a chef, too, and she credits him with sacrificing his career to be present for their daughter so she could thrive in hers. Their daughter is a pastry chef. When Comerford retired, assistant chef Tommy Kurpradit, whose parents are from Thailand, was named interim executive chef. Melania Trump, who worked with Comerford in the first Trump administration, has not named a successor. Comerford said she managed everything with 'a lot of prayers,' often said during her hourlong, early morning drive into the White House, but also by being versatile, humble, able to handle chaos and having faith in herself and her team. 'One thing with cooking at the White House, you don't just do fine dining meals,' she said. 'You have to know how to cook eggs and breakfast. You have to know to cook a smashburger.' It also helps to remember that the job is about the family. 'There's no ego in it,' Comerford said. White House culinary history includes chefs from China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand, as far back as the 19th century, according to Adrian Miller and Deborah Chang, co-authors of a new book, 'Cooking to the President's Taste: Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History." Most sharpened their skills through service in the U.S. military. Before Comerford, Pedro Udo, a Filipino trained in the U.S. military, was the first Asian heritage chef to run the White House kitchen after he was promoted from meat chef to head chef in June 1957, according to the book. He prepared meals for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip later that year, and for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in September 1959 during the Cold War. But his stint ended after less than four years when the new first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, hired acclaimed French chef René Verdon in early 1961. Miller said the book offers a 'unique window" on the presidency. 'We get a look at the presidents, but also the presidents got a look at Asian American life in maybe ways that they hadn't before,' he told the AP in an interview. "And I think, you know, for the presidents that decided to open that window and find out more about the people who were providing, comforting them through amazing food, I think our nation is better for them.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
