Ciara Mageean has tied the knot with her longtime partner, Thomas Moran, just a little over a year after the Olympian was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
While some may assume that the athlete’s shock diagnosis with stage four bowel cancer in 2025 would have halted her plans to walk down the aisle, she did just that this weekend.
Just two years after announcing their engagement, Ciara and Thomas have shared the first snaps from their loved-up wedding day this weekend, reposting images taken by their photographer.
Sharing the first look at the couple’s big day, their photographer, Andrew McKenna, simply wrote: ‘Ciara & Tommy’.
The loving couple seemingly celebrated the big day in Belfast, first pictured popping bottles of Champagne in front of a Mercedes-Benz outside Titanic Belfast.
Other pictures show the happy couple enjoying their day. In the pics, they can be seen swigging Champagne straight from the bottle, walking hand-in-hand down the aisle and sharing kisses in multiple locations.
Another black-and-white photo sweetly shows Thomas cradling Ciara’s face in his hand, taken shortly after they said ‘I do’.
Going for vintage rather than a traditional style, Ciara donned a short wrap dress with a wrap-style bodice. This then flowed into a softly flared A-line skirt that unconventionally stopped just above her knees.
The dress was filled with delicate detailing, a deep V-neckline and three-quarter-length semi-sheer sleeves. However, in a more traditional style, the athlete did have a short veil.
The post quickly saw Ciara and Thomas inundated with well wishes from a number of high-profile names.
‘Absolutely gorgeous, congratulations,’ Laura Nolan wrote, as David Gillick commented: ‘Congratulations to you both.’
Jarlath Regan penned: ‘Congratulations guys. Love the pics so much.’ Athlete Thomas Barr wrote: ‘Absolutely love this, huge congratulations you guys.’
Thomas popped the question at Christmas 2024, but their plans suddenly faced a major hitch when Ciara was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in summer of 2025.
However, determined to remain positive, Ciara would later stress that she would not ‘let cancer get in the way’ of her big day.
Speaking previously on the BBC’s GAA Social podcast, Ciara said: ‘Myself and Thomas are getting married in October. I’m not going to let this cancer get in the way of that.’
The 34-year-old has also spoken out in the past about being unlucky to receive the diagnosis, with less than 5% of bowel cancer patients being under 50 and only around 1% being under 35.
Speaking to the Irish Times about her wedding day, she admitted: ‘‘I don’t want to be that girl who looks like a skeleton on her wedding day, or having to be in a hospital bed with Tommy beside me, and me in a wedding dress in the hospital bed. I want it to be a normal day.
And now, the pictures from this weekend’s ceremony seem to show a loved-up bride getting everything she wished for.
