Ciarán Ó Lionáird announced himself on the world stage at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, reaching the 1,500 metres final on his major championship debut and finishing 10th in the world. He went on to win bronze in the 3,000 metres at the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships – a result that underlined the quality he carried throughout his career despite the injury setbacks that defined his later years.

He competed in the men’s 1,500 metres at the 2012 London Olympic Games, finishing 13th in his heat after an injury-hampered build-up. Growing up near Macroom, he took up running aged seven with West Muskerry AC and was breaking Irish middle-distance age records at nine and ten. He attended De La Salle College Macroom, won the Irish Schools 1,500m title, won bronze at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2005 and finished 10th at the World Youth Championships in Morocco the same year.

He took up a scholarship at the University of Michigan before transferring to Florida State University, where he was coached by Bob Braman. He turned professional in 2011 and was a member of Leevale AC, coached by Der O’Donovan. Persistent Achilles problems and two surgeries brought his career to a close at the age of twenty-eight.