The Requiem Mass for Ireland’s Olympic runner Ciara Mageean took place today at St. Patrick's Church, Ballyphilip, in her hometown of Portaferry, Northern Ireland. Mageean, the reigning European 1500m champion who won gold in Rome in 2024, died on Sunday, November 1, at age 34 following a stage-four bowel cancer diagnosis in 2025.
Fr. Martin Kelly told mourners of visiting Mageean at the Marie Curie Hospice three weeks before her passing. Fr. Kelly, who had known Mageean since arriving in the parish in 2000 when she was an eight-year-old altar server, paid tribute to her character and the immense joy her athletic achievements brought to the nation.
Recalling his hospice visit and administering the Sacrament of the Sick, Fr. Kelly shared:
"I asked her what special graces she needed at that time. We talked about acceptance and how hard it was for her. We spoke of trust—trusting how well she was loved by Tommy, the love of her life, all her family and friends, and people and colleagues all over Ireland and Europe. I said that the reality of all this love was the expression of how God was loving her and cherishing her, especially at this time of her life."
Her funeral cortège was greeted by a guard of honour formed by her local camogie club, Portaferry GAC, and her former school, Assumption Grammar in Ballynahinch.
A two-time Olympian who competed at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, Mageean held multiple Irish national records, including the 800m, 1,000m, 1,500m, and the mile. Her victory in Rome in 2024 made her only the second Irish woman after Sonia O'Sullivan to secure an individual European outdoor title. She also represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, capturing silver in Birmingham in 2022.
Mageean married her long-time partner, Thomas Moran, in a ceremony in Belfast just weeks before her death.
Editor's Note: Patrick J Passmore lives on the north coast of Ireland. He has worked with St Brigid Media on a range of projects as a consultant and writer.