Funeral arrangements announced for Irish Olympian Ciara Mageean

Ciara Mageean’s funeral will be held on Tuesday 3 November at St Patrick’s Church, Ballyphillip, with burial in the adjoining cemetery.

The 34‑year‑old Olympian and European gold medallist died peacefully on Sunday at Marie Curie Hospice after a diagnosis of bowel cancer last year. She will lie in repose today, Monday 2 November, at her parents’ home in Portaferry, Co Down, with callers welcome between 10 am‑1 pm and 3 pm‑9 pm; the house will be strictly private on the day of the funeral.

President Catherine Connolly described Mageean as “a wonderful athlete, a runner who distinguished herself from her junior years right up to the outstanding achievement of becoming a European champion”. Tributes have poured in from athletes and sporting bodies, including the Camogie Association, which called itself “broken‑hearted”.

Mageean’s career highlights included a 1500 m silver at the World Junior Championships, a 1500 m bronze at the 2016 European Championships, a European Indoor bronze in 2019, and a European 1500 m gold in 2024, where she broke Sonia O’Sullivan’s long‑standing Irish 1,000 m record.

She married former training partner Thomas Moran in an intimate civil ceremony at Belfast City Hall earlier this year, after confirming her cancer diagnosis in May 2025.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels.