Irish athletics in mourning after death of legend Jerry
Famed Olympian trained NI star and represented Ireland at 1984 Games
IRISH athletics has lost another giant with the death of Jerry Kiernan, who leaves a legacy as one of Ireland’s foremost distance runners and coaches.
The 67-year-old was from Listowel, Co Kerry, but lived in Dublin for most of his adult life.
He was a household name in athletics because of his achievements and his coaching of a large stable of athletes.
This included the World Athletics 1,500-metre finalist Ciara Mageean, from Portaferry, who was coached by Mr Kiernan from March 2013 to late 2017.
The retired national school teacher was also an established pundit for RTE and was wellknown for his precise analysis.
Middle-distance star Ciara joined the Kiernan stable in 2013 after working with former northern coach Eamonn Christie.
At the time, she was recovering from a serious ankle injury. Despite this, she progressed under Gerry’s wing to mature into a world-class athlete who won Northern Irish and Irish titles.
Her honours include a bronze medal over 1,500 metres in the Amsterdam European Athletics Championships in July 2016, quickly followed by representing Ireland in the Rio Olympics. Her season ended with a Northern Ireland record of 4.01.46 in Paris.
“Words will never sum up what he means to me, he’ll never be replaced,” she said yesterday. “He’s someone I hold very dear in my heart. There’s so much in my life I owe to Jerry.”
Towards the end of 2017, Ciara moved to Manchester to train with Steve Vernon and his Great Britain squad. She said at the time: “Jerry took me on after ankle surgery and helped me on my road to recovery.
“He helped to give me the confidence to know I’m as good as any athlete in the world.”
Paying tribute to Mr Kiernan, Athletics Ireland tweeted: “We are very sorry to hear of the passing of Jerry Kiernan.
“Jerry finished ninth in the Olympic marathon in 1984 and also coached many of Ireland’s top athletes, including Ciara Mageean and John Travers. May he rest in peace.”
Mr Kiernan notched up many notable achievements in the course of his career.
He finished in ninth place in the marathon at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angles, where his Irish teammate John Treacy won the silver medal.
Mr Kiernan also won the Dublin marathon in 1982 and 1992, and in 1976 he became the seventh Irishman to break the four-minute mile when he ran 3:59.2 in London.
The lifelong member of Clonliffe Harriers AC was a respected athletics analyst on television for many years.
During an athletics career which spanned three decades, he was one of the country’s most versatile performers on track, road and cross country. It was not until he switched to the marathon at the age of 29 that he achieved international success.
In 1984 he was sensationally disqualified after winning the Cork marathon, which doubled as the BLE National Championship and was a trial for the LA Olympics. The winner of the women’s race Deirdre Nagle was also disqualified as BLE deemed the vests they wore illegal.
Along with Dick Hooper and John Treacy, Mr Kiernan was selected to represent Ireland in the marathon at the LA Olympics.
In a star-stubbed field, he was up with the lead group, which included John Treacy, at the 22mile mark before fading slightly, but he still secured a magnificent ninth place in a personal best time of 2:12.20.
‘Jerry took me on and helped me on my road to recovery. He gave me the confidence to know I’m as good as any athlete in the world’