Ciara Mageean obituary: Resilient runner who became one of Ireland’s greatest athletes

The Irish Times · Mon Nov · 2026-11-02 06:00 UTC

Holder of Irish records over 800m, 1,000m, 1,500m and the mile, all of which once belonged to Sonia O’Sullivan

The running life and times of Ciara Mageean are easily measured in all the medals she won and the records she broke, but it was her competitive and fearless spirit, her desire to get the absolute best of her herself, that set her apart from the word go.

By the time Mageean’s memoir My Greatest Race was published in June, her running achievements had already carved out her unique place in Irish sporting history. What she’ll also be remembered for is her love of living right until the end.

Her death on Sunday morning, at the age of 34, comes just 17 months after her cancer diagnosis in May 2025. It also comes just weeks after her wedding to husband Thomas Moran at Belfast City Hall.

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