John Treacy on Jerry Kiernan: 'He had this great sense of purpose about him'

Jerry was much more than an athlete. If he was living in the States and committed full-time to running he’d have done extremely well, but he was always dedicated to his teaching

Former Olympian Jerry Kiernan taking part in a charity 5k race in Ballinlough.

When I got the call yesterday, I was floored – totally and utterly shocked. For those of us who knew Jerry Kiernan, that feeling will take a long time to leave us. The guy was a great friend to us all.

I got to know him properly in 1981. After years in America, I had come back to Ireland and I was living in Dundrum, doing a lot of training in Marlay Park. For two or three years Jerry and I used to meet on a Sunday morning with about 10 other guys and we’d go for a 22-mile run up the Dublin Mountains.