10 November 2022

Jerry Kiernan Foundation invites athlete applications for 2023

The Jerry Kiernan Foundation was established in 2021 to support elite athletes in their athletic development. The Foundation aims to honour Jerry’s unique legacy as an educator, coach and mentor to students and athletes over 35 years until his untimely death in 2021. The Foundation is inviting applications from athletes for funding support in 2023.

Successful Launch in 2022

The Foundation conducted its first grant programme in 2022, when €30,000 was shared between 22 successful applicants. Many of these athletes went on to outstanding success, with Efrem Gidey (10,000m), Louise Shanahan (800m)  and Chris O’Donnell (Mixed Relay) all coming in the top 8 in European Championships and Reece Ademola (Long Jump) finishing 5th on the World U/20. Looking ahead, many of the athletes supported in 2022 are likely to be contesting for places in the Irish teams for the European Cross Country Championships in Turin in December.

In addition to its award programme, the Foundation has supported up and coming athletes by sponsoring The Junior Women’s mile and Young Irish Athlete of the Meet awards at the Morton Games in July. More recently, it also partnered with the  Insight centre for Data Analytics in UCD in running a very successful Science of Running Symposium in September.

2023 Application Process

A transparent application procedure is available at www.jerrykiernanfoundation.org. Athletes will be assessed based on their previous achievements and longer-term potential, taking into account other sources of income or support available to them. The assessment process will be conducted by an independent panel. 

The application process will remain open for a 4 week period, closing on 30 November. Unfortunately applications received after this date will not be eligible. 

The Foundation expects to announce its supported athletes for 2022 in early 2023.

Supporting the Foundation

Anybody interested in assisting directly can make a donation through the website or directly via email to info@jerrykiernanfoundation.org.  The Foundation is also seeking to partner 

with businesses and individuals on a structured basis to fund its longer term objectives.

Launching the Application Process, the Foundation’s chairman Murt Coleman commented:

“ The response to our 2022 grant programme and success of our supported athletes has demonstrated there is a clear need for the type of support the Jerry Kiernan  Foundation offers. We are now delighted to launch our 2023 application process, which will help successful applicants plan their 2023 training and competition programmes and support their continued success”