Ciara Mageean

And

And I'm like, we need to celebrate the joys in life and we need to verbalise them a lot more because all too often it's the negative things when naturally when you read out the news, the news feed, it's all negative things.

I think all of us need to take a wee moment and smell the roses and think, OK, there's good stuff to celebrate in life.

I'd say as much as the journey that I'm going through now,

I think it's hardest for the people around you whenever you're going through a really tough time.

I'm a strong person and I take a lot of stuff on the chin and I have my moments where I'll have a wee cry, but I'm like, I'll take on whatever stress, I'll take all that on.

I'm so used to my athletic career giving me amazing highs and absolutely crushing lows.

But like, you know, for my daddy in Paris to wrap his arms around me, we were standing outside a big cathedral and looking out onto the main road stretch and he just wraps his arms around me.

And anybody who knows my daddy, he's a big man.

His nickname's The Hunter.

I don't know if that comes from...

his hunting background or if it was what he was like on the hurling pitch.

But many people would view him as a very tough man, but he's an absolute softie.

But like wrapping his arms around me, like, right, it's that enough.

And I think for him, it was like, he just wanted to protect his little girl.

And he had seen me go through injuries where I was limping, just walking.

And he's seen me in absolute tears and distraught over my career not going the way I wanted it to.

And he's like, there's easier ways in life.

It's much easier to not go and push yourself as hard as you can be and to aim for the highest thing.

Whenever you aim for the highest thing, you're always, not always, but more than likely going to come away disappointed in some shape or form.