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Portaferry bids farewell to European champion Ciara Mageean

Her funeral Mass recalls the runner's childhood in the town, her gold medal in Rome and a final walk with her parish priest.

Channel: RTÉ News ·

IrelandStory of November 6, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Funeral of Irish Olympian Ciara Mageean | RTÉ News

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6:58The homily connects the Gospel's wedding at Cana with Mageean's marriage to Tommy.
9:47The priest remembers Mageean as an altar server and recalls Portaferry celebrating her early athletics success.
11:44Her European gold medal in Rome prompts a recollection of her determination to break through the field.
13:14The priest recounts a hospice visit, the sacrament of the sick and a walk outside together.
23:25The intercessions include prayers for Mageean, her bereaved family, caregivers and medical staff.
53:52The final commendation begins with holy water and incense; the coffin is carried out after the farewell.

St Patrick's Church in Portaferry, County Down, was packed for Ciara Mageean's funeral, as family, friends and the local community gathered to remember the Irish Olympian and European champion.

Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ News carried the Catholic funeral Mass. It reports that Mageean died aged 34, having announced in July 2025 that she had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.

The homily connected the athlete known internationally for her running with the person her parish had known since childhood. The celebrant recalled arriving in Portaferry in 2000, when Mageean was an altar server, and remembered the town celebrating her return with a world junior silver medal.

Her European Championship victory in Rome in 2024 brought another memory: the determination with which she found her way through the field to take gold. Recounting her response to being boxed in, the priest quoted her words: "You're not going to box in a Portaferry camogie player that easily."

The most personal recollection concerned his visit to Mageean at the Marie Curie Hospice about three weeks before the funeral. He had gone to administer the sacrament of the sick. She suggested they go outside for a walk, then offered him her arm.

The service also remembered her marriage to Tommy, with the Gospel account of the wedding at Cana providing the starting point for the homily. Prayers were offered for her family, caregivers and medical staff.

After Communion, clergy sprinkled the coffin with holy water and used incense during the final commendation. A farewell in Irish and English preceded the pallbearers carrying her coffin out of the church.

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