Running star Ciaran Mageean was praised as a 'role model' after appearing on the Late Late Show on Friday night.
The Portaferry woman has catapulted herself back onto the world stage this summer after winning silver at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games before breaking four-minute barrier and Sonia O'Sullivan's long-standing 1500m national record.
Mageean's run of 3:56.63 in Brussels was enough to see her beat her great rival and friend Laura Muir and capture her first ever Diamond League title. And fittingly the 30-year-old was joined on the Late Late Show by legendary runner O'Sullivan to reflect on her stellar season.
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Mageean received plenty of praise on social media for her appearance on the show, with people championing her as a brilliant role model for young women in sport.
One person said: "You’d run a long way to find a better role model for your daughters than Ciara Mageean."
The Co Down athlete also told of her dream of hearing Ireland's national anthem playing as she competed and won medals and spoke about how she believed in the modern day Northern Ireland and winning Commonwealth Games silver.
When asked about representing both nations, the Portaferry woman replied: "It is something that I'm proud of to be able to go out and race for Ireland year in year out but I get the opportunity to race for Northern Ireland once every four years. It is very clear that I am very proud Irish woman.
"Every opportunity I get I have the tricolour draped around my shoulders and have such pride to do so. That's the reason I run, to hear Amhrán na bhFiann ring through a stadium. That's always been my ambition.
"And then to get to compete for Northern Ireland, the small little part of the island that I'm from, it is something that I am very proud of," she added.
"You are saying the island of Ireland has changed since you were a lad, it has even changed in the time I have been alive. I grew up in a small town in Portaferry. It's a pretty neutral town.
"It's probably majority Catholic and nationalist but I was brought up to be respectful of everybody, and that's exactly who my grandparents and parents expect me to be.
"But I suppose there are subtle things growing up in Northern Ireland that you are aware of, like if we were heading up the road - I live on the tip of a peninsula - I might change out of my GAA jersey.
"I was probably subtly aware if I was arriving back from an Irish trip into the Europa bus station to maybe put a different top over my Irish kit. I was always aware that you don't want any bother.
"I'm glad to say I believe Northern Ireland is a different place now."
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