Irish Olympic runner Ciara Mageean has died aged 34 after battling bowel cancer, her family has announced.
Mageean died at 6.30am on Sunday, November 1, surrounded by her loved ones, according to a statement shared on her official Instagram account.
She was described as a beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to many. The statement ended with the Irish blessing: “Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam”, meaning “May her soul be at the right hand of God.”
Ciara Mageean’s European Championship success
Mageean competed at two Olympic Games and won a full set of European Championship medals in the 1,500 metres during her international running career.
She took bronze in 2016, silver in 2022 and gold at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.
Mageean revealed her diagnosis in the summer of 2025. Speaking to the Irish Times after being told she had stage-four cancer, she said: “If I’m going to die, I’m going to fit as much living into the years I have left.”
She added: “My colorectal surgeon told me it was stage four. That the cancer was in my bowel and was quite significant in my bowel. It had spread to my liver and was quite significant in my liver. And there was a small amount in my lungs.”
