It was a sad day in Ireland on Tuesday as athlete Ciara Mageean was laid to rest following her death at the age of 34.
Ciara passed less than two years after she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer and a week after her wedding celebration.
As the sportswoman’s family and friends gathered to say goodbye to her, European Athletics and Athletics Ireland shared a moving video tribute to the star who inspired so many.
The video montage includes clips from Ciara’s races and interviews over the years, with her own voice heard as well as commentators who celebrated her achievements.
‘She’s given her best to the sport for so many; it’s such a delight to see her on the top of the podium,’ the montage began, with further videos showing Ciara competing and doing Ireland proud.
Within 12 hours, the tribute has received more than half a million views, with many people saying it was a beautiful way to honour Ciara but also hammered home how heartbreaking her loss is.
‘So incredibly sad and unfair,’ wrote one person. ‘Such a hero!! Sending so much love to her family.’
Another said: ‘What a hero both on and off the track. She will be sorely missed, but her legacy will live on through everyone she has inspired.’
Someone else agreed, commenting: ‘It’s just so heartbreaking, so unfair, but my God what a woman… inspirational can be used too loosely these days but not when it comes to our Ciara.’
‘What a sad day in Ireland, saying goodbye to such a great woman. She made us all proud,’ added someone else.
A fifth penned: ‘Gosh, this is absolutely heartbreaking; why is life sometimes so cruel?’
On Tuesday, hundreds of mourners walked in the funeral cortege as Ciara’s coffin was carried into the grounds of St Patrick’s Church in Ballyphilip.
During the service, former parish priest of Portadown, Father Martin Kelly, spoke to Ciara’s husband, Thomas, and said he was ‘the love of her life’.
