DUBLIN – Former European 1,500m champion and two-time Olympian Ciara Mageean died on Nov 1 at the age of 34, just over a year after revealing she had Stage 4 bowel cancer.
The Irish athlete announced her diagnosis in July 2025. In a statement on her Instagram account, her family said she died at 6.30am surrounded by loved ones and described her as “a beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to so many.”
Mageean had married her long-term partner, Thomas Moran, only weeks before her death. Her greatest career achievement came in 2024, when she won European 1,500m gold in Rome. She also won European bronze in 2016 and silver in 2022, and claimed Commonwealth Games silver in 2022 while representing Northern Ireland.
Mageean competed for Ireland at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics. She was forced to withdraw from the Paris Games after sustaining an Achilles injury a day before her opening heat.