TRIBUTES have been paid to Kerry Olympian Jerry Kiernan who has passed away at the age of 67.
A native of Listowel and a retired national school teacher, he was an outstanding athlete throughout his life and he was established as one of the country’s best distance runners.
Jerry, who lived in Dublin, finished in ninth place in the marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when his Irish teammate John Treacy won silver.
He also won the Dublin marathon in 1982 and 1992.
Some years prior to that, he was one of the first Irish men to break the four-minute mile when he ran 3:59.2 in London.
A member of Clonliffe Harriers AC in Dublin, he went on to become a highly rated coach and he was a top class athletics analyst on RTÉ for several years, covering a number of Olympics and World and European Championships.
In a statement, Athletics Ireland said: “We are very sorry to hear of the passing of Jerry Kiernan. Jerry finished 9th 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”.
Former Olympian and world champion Eamonn Coughlan said he was “totally gutted” to hear the sad news.
He described Jerry as a great friend, training partner, athlete, coach and commentator and remarked: “He’ll be hugely missed”.
RTÉ sports broadcaster Greg Allen said on Twitter: “I’m absolutely numb. Coffee in Er Buchetto in Ranelagh with him was a philosophy lesson. Just can’t quite believe he’s gone. My deepest condolences to his family”.
His RTÉ colleague, Des Cahill, said: “I know he was a great athlete but also a fantastic broadcaster. Apart from his deep passion for athletics, he also loved a good argument, Barcelona FC and giving out about the GAA”.
Athlete David Gillick commented: “Terrible news, a great athletics man, never short of a few words, helpful to so many and always up for a laugh”.
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