Irish Olympian Ciara Mageean celebrated a very special milestone in her personal life less than a week before she passed away at 34 following a battle with stage 4 bowel cancer.
The middle-distance runner tied the knot with her long-time partner Thomas Moran on 13 October in a small civil ceremony in Belfast. After saying "I do", the couple, who were together for a decade, celebrated the milestone with their nearest and dearest, gathering for a second ceremony at Darver Castle in the countryside of County Louth on 25 October – just six days before Ciara died on 1 November.
"I hope you didn’t think we were skipping the party," the bride had captioned a collection of heartwarming photos from their second wedding, shared on Instagram the day after. Ciara, who wore a white slip dress and traditional veil in her hair, gushed that it had been an "incredible day" spent with "the most amazing people."
Ciara was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in May 2025 – just several months after Thomas popped the question in late 2024. Ciara shared her engagement news in January 2025, gushing that it was her "biggest prize yet" and "the easiest question I’ve ever been asked". She added: "Tommy has been the rock by my side for over ten years, and now, my training partner for life."
The athlete previously opened up in July about "looking forward" to her October wedding plans with Thomas amid her health battle.
© Instagram/ @ciaramageeanrun"I'm not going to let this cancer get in the way of that," she told the BBC. A week before the interview, Ciara had found out that the tumours had increased in activity and there were signs of cancer cells in one of her ribs.
"I chatted to the team about that and was like, ‘What’s the craic if I’m on chemo and I’m wanting to have a wedding?" she recalled asking. "Like, could we pause maybe a little bit of treatment somewhere in October so my immunity comes up and I can have a right old shindig to celebrate me and Tommy?"
© Sportsfile via Getty ImagesCiara passes away at the age of 34
A message posted to Ciara's personal Instagram account on Sunday announced the European champion and two-time Olympian had died "surrounded by her loved ones".
"At 6:30am this morning, Ciara lost her battle with cancer surrounded by her loved ones. A beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to so many, she will be deeply missed," the post read.
