Former Irish athletics manager Patsy McGonagle mourns Ciara Mageean

Former Irish athletics team manager Patsy McGonagle has paid tribute to the late Ciara Mageean, who died today after a battle with bowel cancer.

Mageean, a 34‑year‑old Olympian and European gold medallist from Portaferry, County Down, represented Ireland at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Games and won 1500 m bronze at the 2016 European Championships.

Tributes from a former manager

McGonagle, who managed Mageean during several of her early international outings, described her as “a sound, lovely girl” and “a delight to work with, a really down‑to‑earth country girl from County Down.” He recalled memories of their time together, including “tramping the back streets of Brazil during the 2016 Olympics in Rio” and the “highlight” of her medal win in Amsterdam.

He added that Mageean was “one of the nicest people I ever worked with” and expressed sorrow that she “has been taken so young.”

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Jan van der Wolf / Pexels.