Ciara Neville: 'Especially after an injury, you really learn who is there for you'

It has been a long road to the competitive start for Ciara Neville but thanks to the Jerry Kiernan Foundation she is training as a full time athlete trying to find form of her old-self.

Limerick sprinter Ciara Neville is one of 12 Irish athletes who will be financially supported by the Jerry Kiernan Foundation in 2024. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

There was a time when it came easy. It was the summer of 2019. Ciara Neville was just 19, and the Limerick sprinter had just run 100 metres in a blazing 11.33 seconds.

She was national senior champion, the second fastest Irishwoman of all time. Just up ahead were the Tokyo Olympics, her future laden with fast times and bright, shiny medals. At least that’s how it seemed.