After a journey of 32 struggles, victories, and experiences that lasted for 32 years, Ciara Mageean has finally landed at her desired destination. The place is Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, and the time is 9.40pm, on the tenth day of June in 2024. She stands at third place in the women’s 1,500m final just about to round the final stretch. The common saying in horse racing, “still pulling double on the bit,” aptly describes her situation.
Only four years prior, Mageean had clinched the silver in the same event, and she tactically positions herself now for the gold, facing only one obstacle. The passage to the finish line is obscured by two English competitors and an unexpected contender from France on her flank. Viewers across Ireland and further afield anxiously hold their breath, their hands covering their mouths in the worry of an imminent catastrophe.
Yet Mageean holds the resolution that is not yet apparent to the viewers. The problem she faced has been resolved for her a long time ago, deducted by her childhood, crafted in her cherished birthplace, Portaferry. It lies isolated and remote at the southern tip of the Ards peninsula in Co Down.
Returning home after an extended time away, she feels a unique sense of joy and satisfaction. She reveals that whenever she rounds the last corner and spots the “Portaferry” sign, her heart overflows with warm and content feelings.
“There’s a certain level of comfort and joy I experience that I can’t really express,” she says. “Despite traveling the world, there truly is no place I would rather be than in the modest meadow behind my home, gazing at the windmill hill.”
“I get a full view of the windmill, the lough’s mouth, and the essence of my entire life—the community that brought me up, and my town. My primary school, local chapel, and the hurling club are all within sight. A part of you invariably yearns to escape and travel the world when you grow up in a small town. Fortunately for me, I’ve had the opportunity to do just that.”
As Mageean expresses, there’s a special kind of contentment which resonates as she sits amidst springer and cocker spaniels frolicking in the field. This brings her an inexplicable blend of security and joy.
The mere mention of her home transports you right onto that dew-kissed lawn come morning time, allows you to feel the misty Strangford Lough spray, and lets you tune in to the indistinct chatter of the townsfolk. In Portaferry, where Mageean assures everyone maintains a deep-rooted connection, a ‘stranger’ is an entirely foreign concept.
Enveloped by this community, even a simple casual encounter escalates into meaningful chats, she tells with a chuckle. Sometimes, just for this reason, she shudders to prance into Gerry’s local store knowing that a quick in-and-out trip for milk might stretch half an hour longer. Yet, she cherishes every such moment. For Mageean, this warmth, care and humble nature of the folks is what keeps her grounded. This sense of belonging to an extended family fills her with immense pride, a pride she wishes to share with them, return something to the people who shaped her.
In retrograde, Mageean’s youth was heavily dipped in her Irish lineage; frequenting Mass, immersed in dancing and traditional music. Among all things, Mageean’s major attraction was towards camogie, a game her older sister Maire passionately played and her Aunt Edel Mason bagged an All-Star nomination for in 2004.
Mageean credits her physical education teacher from Ballynahinch secondary school for identifying her knack for distance running. Although Mageean suspects her teacher may have just wanted to channel her aggressive and hyper-competitive energy to a less group-oriented sport. Even so, camogie remains the apple of her eye, a form of therapeutic art more than a mere game for her.
She cherishes the nostalgic echo of a ball ricocheting off a gable wall. The gentle thunk, for Mageean, awakens memories of her formative years. “If my body ever permits, I’d love to return to playing camogie,” she muses thoughtfully.
Before making her journey to the European championship, Mageean experienced some tumultuous weeks filled with anxiety and stress. She was supposed to embark on a half-hour jog but was feeling low-spirited. Instead, she told her partner Thomas Moran that she’d head for the municipal field for some hurling. The act of picking up and striking the ball, again and again, not only substituted her run but refreshed her mind as well.
Mageean aspires to soon settle back home permanently, making a significant impact on the community that raised her. She dreams of developing a running field on the peninsula’s edge or forming a running group in her hometown. However, she first has to overcome the challenge of the Paris Olympics. Is this an opportunity to bring recognition to Portaferry?
“Everyone speaks about putting Portaferry on the map,” she replies. “But for me, it’s always been prominent, irrespective of my victories or failures. I am deeply tied to Manchester where I live, but when asked if I plan to settle there, my response is an immediate ‘no’. I might agree to a middle-ground with the man from Meath, whom I’ve been with for the past decade, and perhaps not go all the way down the peninsula. However, my desire to return and contribute to the community that shaped me remains unwavering. If my journey can inspire even one child, who sees me on television, to chase their dreams in sports, or art, or scholarship, it would hold greater value than any riches or awards.”
She still has that trouble to address, however. On Sunday, June 10th, 2024, at 9.40pm, in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, the finalists of the women’s 1,500m race are in the straight run. The distance between the two English runners is not much wider than Mageean with her hurling-practiced elbows. This gap is more than ample for a woman accustomed to diving headfirst into a mixture of swinging hurls without the fear of the outcome. She widens the distance and charges to her victory, bagging the European gold medal, still robust, still ‘going strong’.
Straight after her triumph, Mageean was quick to acknowledge the community that nurtured her, the ritual half-pint of milk, and the spaniels that used to play in the field behind her residence. Just as the Duke of Wellington is believed to have stated that the triumph over Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo can be traced back to the playing fields of Eton, so did Ciara Mageean instinctively know that her most significant victory thus far, at the Stadio Olimpico, could be traced back to the Portaferry camogie pitch. Further to this, Mageean is representing the Flogas Olympic sponsorship programme as an ambassador.