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Ciara Mageean dies at 34; European 1,500-meter champion lost her battle with cancer
The Irish athlete, gold medalist at the 2024 European Championships in Rome, died early Sunday morning. She had revealed in July 2025 that she had stage four bowel cancer.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
November 1, 2026, 18:30 · Updated 19:04 · 1 min read
In brief
- Mageean died at 6:30 a.m., surrounded by her loved ones, according to the announcement on her profile.
- She won the European 1,500-meter title in Rome in 2024 and held Irish records in the 800 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m and mile.
- President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to the athlete.
European athletics is in mourning. Ireland's Ciara Mageean, the European 1,500-meter champion, died on Sunday at the age of 34. According to the announcement on her Instagram profile, reported by Irish broadcaster RTÉ, she died at 6:30 a.m., “surrounded by her loved ones,” after a battle with cancer.
The diagnosis and the book
Mageean, from Portaferry in County Down, had revealed in July 2025 that she had stage four bowel cancer. She also told her story in her autobiography, “My Greatest Race.” Last month she married her long-term partner, Thomas Moran, at Belfast City Hall.
A full set of medals
Her greatest success came at the 2024 European Championships in Rome, where she won gold in the 1,500 meters and completed her set of continental medals, after bronze in Amsterdam in 2016 and silver in Munich in 2022. In 2022 she also won silver at the Commonwealth Games. She competed in the 1,500 meters at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, while an Achilles injury ruled her out of Paris 2024 one day before her first heat.
Mageean held the Irish records in the 800 m (1:58.51), 1,000 m (2:31.06), 1,500 m (3:55.87) and mile (4:14.58).
Irish President Catherine Connolly praised her talent, strength and perseverance, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin cited the athlete's inspiring performances and courage. Athletics Ireland called her an inspirational figure.
