Orla Comerford's creative day job, health condition and tragic loss before Paralympics
The Dubliner is competing at the games for a third time and was delighted to be roared on by a big Irish support
Orla Comerford said it felt "insane" after winning a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games on Tuesday.
The Dubliner is competing at the games for a third time and was delighted to be roared on by a big Irish support in Paris.
The athlete has been running since she was only six years old, but sports isn’t her only love as she enjoys a very creative day job, reports RSVP Live.
READ MORE: Orla Comerford's family steal the show with chaotic RTE interview
READ MORE:Róisín Ní Ríain and Orla Comerford win bronze medals for Ireland at Paralympics
Comerford was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease as a child and shared how she was determined to not let it stop her from becoming a sprinter.
How old is Orla and where is she from?
Orla was born in 1997 and grew up in Raheny in County Dublin.
Health
Orla began losing some of her eyesight when she was 11 years old. When she returned to school after a summer off, she struggled to read the board or see the print in her books.
She was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, which is a degenerative condition that affects her central vision.
“Some people thought I was just pretending because I wanted a pair of trendy glasses or something! But my parents knew I wasn't the kind of kid that would pretend I couldn't see things just for a pair of glasses,” she told the Irish Independent.
“They took me to see a specialist who took one look in my eyes and told me I had Stargardt's disease.”
She added: “The condition is genetic and affects my central vision. Weirdly, even when you go back four generations on both sides, no one else in my family has it, it's just one of those things. My eyesight had been getting worse over the years but at 11, it was like hitting a cliff and I experienced major deterioration really quickly.”
Orla explained that there is “there's no way of knowing if my eyesight will hit another one of those cliffs and deteriorate further” but she doesn’t worry about the “what ifs”.
Sprinting career
Orla got into running at a very young age after joining her club Raheny Shamrocks when she was just six years old.
She was diagnosed with an eye condition five years later and was determined to continue doing what she loves.
“I've always been really sporty but I came to terms with the fact that I couldn't see the marks in racing to sail and in tennis I couldn't see the ball, so those fell away,” she previously told the Irish Independent.
“But athletics was always my passion. I started running when I was six years old and joined my club, Raheny Shamrocks. I just love how running makes me feel, I can't even explain it, it just makes me so happy. I was determined that having a visual impairment wouldn't stop me doing what I love.”
Orla made her Paralympics debut at the 2016 Rio Games at just 18 years old. She qualified for the T13 100m final and came in eighth place.
She went on to win two bronze medals at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018 in her 100m and 200m events.
The Dublin native qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, but had a difficult time at the Games. In the lead up to the competition her coach Brian Corcoran sadly died. Before heading to Japan she visited him, telling The Irish Times: “That was the last time I saw him. Yeah, I miss him.”
Orla keeps in contact with Brian’s family, including his wife Connie. Last year when she was competing at the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregen, she heard a voice in the crowd.
She shared: “A friend of Connie’s, who used to run with Brian, was living out there. She called him saying, ‘You’re going to have to get tickets to the Diamond League, there’s going to be a Raheny athlete, one of Brian’s athletes is there.’
“I was running around the track and I hear someone call out, ‘Raheny’ I ran over and there he was. It was lovely for us to meet. I feel like Brian’s legacy is still, he’s in my ear all the time when I’m on the track.”
Orla qualified for her third Paralympic Games and came in third winning a bronze medal at Paris 2024.
Day job
Orla has a degree in Fine Art Media from the National College of Art & Design (NCAD).
She shared pictures of her graduation back in November 2022 and said: “Graduation (….finally). Only took a couple detours on my way. Love to all my NCAD studio rats xo”.
Outside of her athletic career, she is also a visual artist with some of her work put on display during the 2022 RDS Visual Arts Exhibition.
Orla currently works at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
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