Olympian Ciara Mageean signs up to road safety campaign

Date published: 18 April 2025

The Portaferry athlete has signed up to the Department for Infrastructure’s Share the Road to Zero campaign, which encourages greater responsibility and care on our roads.

Mageean joins a growing list of well-known sports stars backing the initiative, including Liverpool and Northern Ireland footballer Conor Bradley, senior women’s footballer Emily Wilson, Ulster Rugby trio Jacob Stockdale, Nick Timoney, and Michael Lowry, Ulster GAA star Rory Grugan, and Belfast Giants.

The 1500m European Champion added gold to her previous silver and bronze medals at last summer’s championships in Rome. Currently recovering from surgery that forced her withdrawal from the 2024 Olympic Games, Mageean is focused on returning to competition and has her sights set on the World Championships in Tokyo this September.

Speaking about supporting the campaign, Ciara Mageean said: 

"I’m proud to add my voice to the Department for Infrastructure’s Share the Road to Zero campaign. When I race, speed is essential—but on the road, excessive speed can be deadly.

“As drivers, we must always adjust our speed to suit the road conditions. Coming from a rural area in County Down, I know firsthand the challenges of country roads—sharp bends, poor visibility, and unexpected obstacles like pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders, and slow-moving farm vehicles. We must anticipate these at every turn and drive with caution."

Sadly, 69 people lost their lives on roads in the north in 2024. Hundreds of people were also seriously injured.

Two-thirds of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions occur on rural roads.

So far this year 12 people have lost their lives on our roads.

Minister Liz Kimmins said: 

“I am delighted that Ciara has signed up to our Share the Road to Zero Campaign.

“Ciara is a brilliant role model for our young people, many of whom are new drivers on our roads.

“Ciara’s message is particularly important over the Easter holidays when many of us will be on the roads going on breaks and visiting friends and relatives. The number of deaths on our roads is of great concern and each loss leaves many families, friends and communities devastated.

“One of the best ways to ensure safety on our roads and fulfil our long-term goal of eliminating death and serious injury by 2050, is by changing road user behaviour.

“We all have a personal responsibility to behave in a way that keeps ourselves and others safe and this campaign reminds us of that. The sad reality is that if we do not change our own attitudes when we are using the roads, our death toll will continue to increase.”

Pledging to ‘Share the Road to Zero’ can be done online via: Share the Road to Zero as an individual or as an organisation.