Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir has spoken of Ciara Mageean's 'fierce' determination on the track and "infectious energy" off it as tributes continue for the 1500m European champion.

Her funeral took place on Tuesday in her native Portaferry where mourners were told she was a bright light in the darkness who made the world a nicer place to call home.

Muir and Mageean shared the 1500m start line 25 times in their careers on the track, with Muir getting the better of her Irish competitor on 19 of those occasions.

"It's just incredibly, incredibly sad. There is no other way of describing it," Muir told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.

"We have been running around in circles in a variety of competitions for a long time. She always brought an infectious energy. She would light up a room. She really embraced life."

Mageean and Muir first crossed paths in 2012 at the popular British Milers Club race series in Manchester when 20-year-old Mageean went one nil up over her Scottish rival on their first meeting.

That 1500m in Manchester may have been the start of a long rivalry but it was Muir who dominated results in the races that came after.

It took until 2022 for Mageean to get a notable victory over her Scottish rival.

After finishing one place behind Muir at the European Championships, just a few weeks later, they were 1-2 again.

This time Mageean was the victor taking a memorable win at the Diamond League in Brussels to break Sonia O'Sullivan's Irish record for the first time. Muir was just a few steps behind, running 3:56.86 to Mageean's 3:56.63.

"In the nicest possible way, she was so fierce," Muir said. "She was such a fighter, especially in 2022 and 2023 when we were running similar times. If we were both at the start line and healthy and fit, I knew I had a good race coming on.

"She was an absolute fighter, someone who gave it everything.

"Sometimes people finish a race and they are full of energy on the track, but for me and Ciara, we are always lying on the track feeling dead, holding each other's hand. We would need a few minutes to compose ourselves because we both gave it just everything."

Muir was especially pleased to witness Mageean break O'Sullivan's national 1500m record in 2022.

"It was lovely to be there on the day and see how much it meant to her," she said. "She deserved that, that's the level of ability she was at. It was so nice to see her get that time down and show the world what she was capable of."