Olympian Ciarán Ó Lionáird to be laid to rest in Cork 

Ciarán Ó Lionáird won bronze for Ireland in the 2013 European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in the 3,000m. Picture: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Olympian and European indoor medalist Ciarán Ó Lionáird will be laid to rest in Cork on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old athlete was found dead in a hotel in Vancouver in Canada on June 9. His body has been repatriated to Ireland, and he will be buried in Inchigeela on Wednesday.

He will lie in repose in Casey’s funeral home in Inchigeela on Tuesday evening from 6pm, with prayers at 8pm.

His funeral mass will take place in St Finbarr and the Holy Angels Church, Inchigeela at 2pm on Wednesday, with burial afterwards in the local cemetery.

Mr Ó Lionáird grew up outside Inchigeela and first joined West Muskerry Athletic Club before moving on to Leevale.

In 2005, he won a 1,500m bronze medal at the European Youth Olympics in Lignano, Italy.

He represented Ireland at the 2012 Olympic Games and won bronze for Ireland in the 2013 European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in the 3,000m.

Mr Ó Lionáird announced his retirement from athletics before the Rio Olympics in 2016 and has been based in the US for more than a decade.

He is survived by his parents and two brothers.

His death notice said that he “will be fondly remembered by his wide circle of friends in the athletics community in Cork, throughout Ireland, and across the USA, as well as by the many colleagues and friends whose lives he touched”.