David McGlynn never had “the privilege” of meeting Jerry Kiernan, but the parallels between the two runners are manifold. It starts with the fact they’ve both been the first Irishman past the finish line in a Dublin Marathon.
At 26, that was McGlynn’s breakthrough running performance in last October’s event. He also won the national marathon title which comes with being the first Irish finisher – McGlynn clocking 2:11:01 to finish fifth-best overall. It came 43 years after Kiernan won the Dublin Marathon outright.
McGlynn is also coached by Ray Treacy, older brother of John Treacy, who famously won the silver medal in the Olympic marathon in LA in 1984 – where Kiernan finished ninth. Also, being from Waterford, McGlynn shares a connection with John Treacy too, who won the Dublin Marathon in 1993.
And although they never met, McGlynn is channelling Kiernan’s spirit in other ways, citing Kiernan’s old-school and hardy approach to training as a big influence on his career.
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“As an athlete, I’ve always respected what those runners did in the 1980s,” he says. “Before Dublin last October, I was reading about Jerry’s win in Dublin in 1982, on his marathon debut. And the torture he went through to win that day. The athletes of that generation have been a massive inspiration for me.”
On Tuesday evening, McGlynn was named among the 12 Jerry Kiernan Foundation award recipients for 2026. The athletes will share in over €30,000, which will go towards their training and competition needs.
The Foundation was set up five years ago to honour Kiernan, who died suddenly in January 2021, aged 67. It has now contributed more than €160,000 to emerging Irish athletes, exclusively through donations and sponsorship.
“That connection is not lost on me,” says McGlynn. “It will help out massively. In terms of getting to training camps, races and the shoes alone are a big expense. And with the mileage I’d be doing in training for the marathon, you go through them quick. Since moving to Dublin last year, it will also help with the rent. This support is so important.”
McGlynn hasn’t benefited from any previous funding, nor does he have a running shoe sponsor. He has just spent €500 in The Run Hub in Dublin before heading off this weekend for a three-week training camp in Font-Romeu in the French Pyrenees.
Not that he’s complaining. He’s made this commitment to chase his marathon dreams since returning from Providence College in Rhode Island in 2023. He spent two years there studying for his MA and first linked up with Ray Treacy, the long-serving coach in Providence.
McGlynn also works 30 hours a week with Ernst & Young, in an internal financial operations role. He credits his employer and Waterford AC for supporting his running goals. He is hoping to be selected for the European Championships marathon in Birmingham in August. That would mark his first Irish international appearance, but his next target is the Great Manchester 10km at the end of May.
His 2:11:01 in Dublin, in what was his third marathon, is short of the Birmingham automatic standard of 2:09:30. However, he is within reach of qualifying on ranking. If not, he’ll plan a defence of his Irish marathon title in Dublin this October.
McGlynn made his winning move in Dublin last October around the 19-mile mark, close to where he lives in Clonskeagh. He admits he’s still only learning about the classic 26.2-mile distance.
“Ray Treacy has been a great mentor, sees the bigger picture,” he says. “I’ve improved every year under his coaching. I wasn’t super-talented or setting the world on fire when I was younger. It’s just been about sticking with it, getting the body to a place where I could handle the marathon training.”
Growing up in Waterford city, his first training ground was running laps of the GAA field in Ballygunner beside the family home. Before last year’s Dublin Marathon, he was clocking up close to 130 miles a week, at altitude, in Font-Romeu. He also credits Martina McCarthy at Sport Ireland Institute for improving his strength and conditioning.
“Again that’s taking some inspiration from the older generation, like Jerry Kiernan, who I think were known for pushing the boat out on training like that.”
Jerry Kiernan Foundation recipients 2026: Bori Akinola (sprints); Fiona Everard (distance); Emma Moore (distance); Ciara Neville (sprints): Oisin Joyce (Javelin); Laura Nicholson (distance); Cormac Dalton (distance); Jack O’Leary (distance); David McGlynn (distance); Lauren Roy (sprints); Conor Cusack (javelin); Oisin Lane (race walk).
