Repeated stress fractures saw Aoife return home mid-way through a US college scholarship in 2007. She qualified as a PE teacher in UCC and now works as a personal trainer but was out of competitive athletics for six years. Her 2:32 run to win the Irish title in the 2019 Dublin Marathon, which knocked 14 minutes off her PB, encouraged her to rediscover her talent. Her 2:38.36 in Cheshire in April knocked four minutes off her PB, put her fourth on the Irish all-time list and qualified her for Tokyo.