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Archive photo · 19 August 2022Hundreds Mourn Ciara Mageean At Funeral In Portaferry, County Down
5 Western Mainstream2 Western Alternative1 Other1 Western TabloidPhoto: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Ciara Mageean, Irish Olympian, died Sunday aged 34 after bowel cancer. Hundreds attended her funeral at St Patrick’s Church in Ballyphilip, Portaferry, County Down.
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Funeral in Portaferry
Hundreds of mourners paid their respects to Olympian Ciara Mageean at her funeral on Tuesday in Portaferry, County Down, after the runner died on Sunday following a diagnosis of stage four bowel cancer. Fr Martin Kelly told mourners at St Patrick's Church that he knew Mageean from her childhood and recalled her hospice visit when she suggested they go for a walk, saying, "Let me link you". The funeral cortege moved from Mageean's family home along the Ballyphilip Road to the church, where the Mass booklet included an image of her moment crossing the line at the 2024 European Championships.
Mageean represented Ireland at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and won gold in the 1500m at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in 2024, and she also represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, winning silver in Birmingham in 2022. The tribute read out at the funeral described Mageean as a "truly remarkable, immensely talented and inspirational human being".
Tributes and the homily
Fr Martin Kelly told mourners that Mageean wanted to hold her funeral Mass in Portaferry, and he said Tommy, her husband, was "very happy to go along with her wishes". Kelly described how Mageean had been determined to give wedding guests a "lavish, memorable occasion," and he said she looked radiant at both events before retiring to her hospice bed. The homily also highlighted Mageean's 2024 European Championships moment in Rome, where Kelly said she cut through "like a knife through butter" to become European champion.
Michelle O'Neill and Claire Hanna were present at St Patrick's Church, Ballyphilip, Co Down, for the funeral of the athlete. Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong said Portaferry will be "still" during the funeral, describing the town as a place where "you’re related to everybody".
Legacy and survivors
The funeral coverage said Mageean died at the Marie Curie Hospice on Sunday, and it placed her death at the age of 34 after a stage four bowel cancer diagnosis. Mageean's funeral procession would leave the family home at 1.45pm on Tuesday, November 3, travelling to St Patrick's Church in Ballyphilip for Requiem Mass at 2pm, with burial immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. The family requested family flowers only and asked for donations in lieu to Bowel Cancer Ireland and Marie Curie.
“At 6:30am this morning, Ciara lost her battle with cancer surrounded by her loved ones.”
The Mass booklet included an image of Mageean's greatest achievement on the track, the moment she crossed the line at the 2024 European Championships. The statement shared on her Instagram account read, "At 6:30am this morning, Ciara lost her battle with cancer surrounded by her loved ones."
