By Daniel Noble
CIARA Mageean has explained why she decided to release her all-Ireland bestselling book, My Greatest Race, detailing her life, career and cancer journey.
The 34 year-old middle-distance runner, who announced that she had cancer in July 2025, returned to Portaferry for the homecoming leg of her book tour last Thursday, with all
proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Taking to the stage in St Patrick’s Community Centre, interviewed by Paralympic gold medal-winning swimmer Ellen Keane, Ciara opened up on her childhood, the highs and lows of her athletics career and how she has coped with her diagnosis and treatment.
Although initially apprehensive about committing to the book, which was co-written with sports journalist Cliona Foley and published by Gill Books, the European gold medallist
admits it has offered a chance for her to leave a legacy.
“I didn’t know what the future was going to look like and I think we all assume we’re going to be here for a long time, so I wanted to get a story down on paper because maybe I’m not going to be here for as long as I’d hoped,” she said.
“It makes me a wee bit emotional to think that it’s just leaving a little memory of me and a lasting memory of me long after I’m gone.
“It seems kind of morbid and sad, but like anything, I try to find the positive and it has given me an opportunity for my legacy to live on.”
That ability to discover the positives in unfortunate circumstances is something that Ciara has developed throughout her life and applied to situations such as injury setbacks and her ongoing cancer journey.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had ups and downs and I’ve learnt to grasp those good moments, which is something that’s been highlighted more for me on this journey,” she explained.
“Being given that diagnosis of two-three years at Christmas gave me that moment to reflect. If I have got two-three years left, I can spend that time being sad and miserable or I can live those however many years I have left enjoying all the good things.
“I felt I didn’t want cancer to win over everything else and I didn’t want it to overconsume me.
“So, my positivity has come from that aspect of being like ‘I’m not going to let this overshadow me’, and I hope everybody who’s going through a cancer diagnosis, or whatever it may be, can still find those happy moments.”
Positivity is a common theme when it comes to My Greatest Race, with portions of the book dedicated to happy memories, family and friends, Portaferry and its people.
It is clear to see just how much Ciara’s hometown means to her, and Portaferry was the natural choice for the final night of the tour.
“We decided to do a book tour and we weren’t sure how I was going to be, because I was in the middle of another six rounds of chemo, so we decided to just do one day in Dublin and commit to that,” she added.
“The 250 tickets sold out in a couple of hours and we committed to another day, but it felt a bit remiss that all the dates were in the south and I wanted to have something at home.
“Belfast is always a natural choice, but I said I wanted to come and do something in Portaferry. I feel so lucky to be from here, so it was very important to me that we wrapped up the book tour in Portaferry, in my beautiful hometown.
“I’m always grateful to the people and the support I get from my hometown because I’m proud to be from here.
“My family is so close, but this entire town is like a family to me, it made me the athlete I am, but more importantly, it made me the person I am.”
