Hundreds of mourners gathered in Portaferry, County Down, on Tuesday for the funeral of Irish Olympian Ciara Mageean, who died on Sunday at age 34 after a battle with stage four bowel cancer. The former European 1500m champion and two-time Olympic runner was described as a "truly remarkable, immensely talented and inspirational human being" during the requiem Mass at St Patrick's Church.
Among the attendees were Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, fellow Olympian Rhys McClenaghan, 1972 Olympic gold medallist Lady Mary Peters, representatives for Irish President Catherine Connolly and the Irish Government, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, GAA President Jarlath Burns, and former boxer Paddy Barnes. The funeral cortege received a guard of honour from Portaferry GAC and Mageean's former school, Assumption Grammar in Ballynahinch.
Mageean's death came less than three weeks after her marriage to long-term partner Thomas Moran. In his homily, Father Martin Kelly recalled visiting her in hospice shortly before her death, sharing a poignant moment when she noticed him struggling and offered to link arms. Mageean represented Ireland at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, won gold in the 1500m at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, and claimed silver for Northern Ireland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
