Ciara Mageean, Irish European champion and Olympic runner, dies aged 34

Ciara Mageean, a former European champion and two-time Olympic runner for Ireland, has died at the age of 34 after being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, Reuters reported. She died on a Sunday, 1 November 2026.

Mageean was from Portaferry in County Down, in Northern Ireland. She was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in May 2025, and in July 2025 she made the diagnosis public, according to Al Jazeera.

Her competitive career spanned several championships. She represented Ireland at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. She won silver for Northern Ireland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and in 2024 she won the 1500 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Rome.

She married her long-term partner, Thomas Moran, less than three weeks before her death, according to the BBC.

Athletics Ireland, the governing body for the sport in Ireland, said it was deeply saddened by her death and described her as a much-loved and inspirational figure. In July 2026 it had announced a special celebration in her honour at the Nationals 2026 event. The Olympic Federation of Ireland, the country's Olympic body, called her an extraordinary athlete and an exceptional person, and said she had represented Ireland with distinction.

Her funeral requiem Mass was held at St Patrick's Church in Portaferry, County Down.