The Little Book of Irish Boxing E-Book

Barry Flynn

• Herausgeber: THP Ireland
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 249

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

A concise history of all the major figures in Irish boxing, from Dan Donnelly to Katy Taylor, this new book from highly experienced author Barry Flynn will be a must for fans of Irish boxing all over the world. A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this compendium of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about this ancient sport.

Leseprobe

To Katrina, Méabh and Deirbhile

CONTENTS

Title

Dedication

1.  The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

2.  The 1900 and 1910s

3.  The 1920s and 1930s

4.  The 1940s

5.  The 1950s

6.  The 1960s

7.  The 1970s

8.  The 1980s

9.  The 1990s

10.  The Twenty-First Century

Copyright

1

THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES

PETER CORCORAN – HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF ENGLAND

Born in Athy, County Kildare, in 1749, Peter Corcoran held the distinction of becoming the first Irishman to claim the heavyweight title of England. Rumoured to have fled Ireland after killing a man in a dispute over a woman, Corcoran found work as a coal-heaver in London where his feats of strength enthralled great crowds. When he came to the attention of Captain Dennis O’Kelly in the 1760s, Corcoran’s career as a bare-knuckle fighter took off. O’Kelly was a dubious rogue and a gambler of note who oversaw the rise of Corcoran and his eventual challenge for the English title against Bill Darts at the Epsom Downs racecourse on 18 May 1771. That fight was for £200 and tens of thousands craned their necks to witness the battle. However, O’Reilly had paid Darts a small fortune to throw the fight, or to ‘fight booty’ as it was then known. Accordingly, within a minute, Darts, on shipping a punch to the nose, surrendered and Corcoran was declared the champion.

Corcoran was to defend that crown on five occasions and he purchased the Black Horse Inn in London’s East End with the proceeds from his career. His title, however, was lost in suspicious circumstances to Henry Sellars in 1776 in the eighteenth round of their bloody battle. This time it was thought that Corcoran had ‘fought booty’ as part of a betting coup. Such was the ‘upset’ that Pierce Egan, in his 1820 book Boxiana, noted, ‘The poor Paddies were literally ruined as many of them had backed their darling boy with every last farthing they possessed.’ In defeat, Corcoran became yesterday’s man and his fortune dwindled away to nothing. He died in poverty in London in 1781, aged 32.

THE SWEET SCIENCE IN THE EMERALD ISLE

Daniel Mendoza was considered the father of modern boxing and had a profound influence on the development of the sport as a science. Born in Spain in 1764, Mendoza published his book The Art of Boxing in 1789, which expounded the theory that speed, footwork and technique could prevail over sheer brute strength. Standing at merely 5ft 7in, Mendoza used his boxing theory to great effect and won the English middleweight title in 1789, when he defeated the then champion Richard Humphries. On becoming champion, Mendoza toured the British Isles, showing off his skills as part of Astery’s Travelling Circus. On arriving in Dublin in 1791, Mendoza established a boxing school for budding pugilists in Dame Street. It was here that Mendoza was to be confronted by ‘a swell of great weight and little prudence’, named Squire Fitzgerald, the so-called ‘Pride of Ireland’. With the backing of, amongst others, the Duke of Leinster, the Earl of Ormonde and Lord Westmeath, who put up a £50 purse for a fight between the two men, Fitzgerald insulted Mendoza’s Jewish background and challenged him for his title. The two met in Dublin on 2 August and the fight lasted twenty rounds before Fitzgerald surrendered in exhausted disarray, apologising afterwards to his opponent for his offensive pre-fight insults.

THE LEGEND OF DAN DONNELLY

Come all ye true-bred Irishmen, I hope you will draw near

And likewise pay attention, to the lines that I have here.

It is as true a story, as ever you did hear

Of how Donnelly fought Cooper, at the Curragh of Kildare.

Ireland’s most famous bare-knuckle fighter was the celebrated Dan Donnelly. Donnelly was born in Townsend Street in Dublin in 1788, the seventh of nine children. He began his prize-fighting career when, as a mere 15-year-old, he gained a reputation with his fists after humbling an English sailor who had insulted his father in a Dublin bar. His career flourished under joint-promoters Captain Kelly and Captain Barclay and he became renowned worldwide. On 13 December 1815, heavy rain fell on the Curragh, County Kildare, but that did not stop thousands making their way there to watch Donnelly fight the English champion George Cooper. Despite the long odds, Donnelly prevailed after eleven rounds with a final punch that broke his opponent’s jaw. When the victory was declared, it was greeted with the ‘loudest and longest cheer ever heard on the Curragh of Kildare’. The natural amphitheatre where the fight took place was renamed ‘Donnelly’s Hollow’ in honour of his victory.

Donnelly’s career flourished in England where, in 1819, he defeated the highly rated Tom Oliver in the thirty-fourth round of their battle. Afterwards, Donnelly was knighted for his efforts by the then Prince Regent, the future George IV. Unfortunately, Donnelly’s private life did not match his fighting skills. Through heavy drinking, he squandered ownership of four pubs and was to die in poverty of alcoholism. When he passed away in 1820, tens of thousands of mourners filled the streets of Dublin to attend his funeral. He was buried in Bully’s Acre in Kilmainham but his body was stolen by grave robbers. When the corpse was eventually re-discovered, it was missing its right arm, which was found to be in the possession of a Dublin anatomist named Hall. The limb was then preserved with lead paint and exhibited around Britain and Ireland. In 1904, the arm was bought by Hugh McAlevey and put on display in his public house, the Duncairn Arms in Belfast. Later it was bought by Kildare boxing fan Jim Byrne and displayed in his restaurant, The Hideout, in Kilcullen, before becoming the chief attraction of ‘The Fighting Irishmen’ exhibition in New York in 2006.

A BRUTAL EXHIBITION IN COUNTY MEATH

The normally quiet hamlet of Greenogue, County Meath, had its peace disturbed on the morning of Tuesday 27 March 1860, when Paddy Murphy and Andrew Moore met for a £100 purse. The two ‘celebrated Dublin bullies’ attracted 3,000 spectators to a local field well away from the eyes and ears of the constabulary and betting was said to be brisk as the men appeared stripped to the waist. After some preliminary sparring, the fight began in earnest and lasted a full half hour before Moore, ‘The Black Diamond’, was declared the winner. In a final desperate attack, Murphy tripped and dislocated his shoulder and was led away sporting a badly disfigured jaw. The Freeman’s Journal reported that, ‘It is to be regretted that the police were not able to ascertain the time the place selected for this fight, so as to prevent the brutal display,’ adding that such fights were ‘fortunately extremely rare in this country’.

PUGILISM ON THE SABBATH DAY – THE IRISH TIMES 1864

‘A printed handbill has been placed in our possession, announcing that a pugilistic encounter will take place on Sunday next, 9 October, at Foxrock. The combatants are named as JOHN WALSH, alias WAPS, and SAM BARTLETT, sail-maker, and the wager is fixed at twenty pounds. The challenge, it is stated, was given and accepted at a public house in George’s Street, Kingstown, on Tuesday last. Hitherto, this country has not been disgraced by such brutalising exhibitions. It is evident, however, that some persons do intend to desecrate the Sabbath Day and to disgrace the pleasant and peaceful neighbourhood of Foxrock by a low imitation of an exhibition that is at best savage and brutal. We now call on the police authorities to prevent so great a scandal. If this “fight” is permitted to take place, the suburbs of Dublin will, on every Sabbath Day, be infested with crowds of dissipated and daring men, assembled to witness the most savage and degrading exhibition that can be conceived, and the worst characters of Dublin will sally forth, nominally to see a fight, but in reality to plunder.’

PRIZE FIGHTING ANDDOG FIGHTING

A crowd of 600 spectators gathered at the Seventh Lock beside the Royal Canal in Dublin’s north side on Sunday 28 November 1876 in anticipation of a fight between two local pugilists. At stake was the princely sum of £25 for the rematch of the two protagonists, who worked in the Cattle Market and who had fought two months previously. With the crowd assembled, news came through that one of the pugilists had had an attack of cold feet and had wisely forgone the rematch. Despite the cancellation, a fight involving two dogs was arranged to entertain the crowds. A ring was formed and two men came forward, one a butcher from Bray and the other a man from Thomas Street in Dublin, with their straining dogs. The dog fight lasted for forty-five minutes, by which time the butcher’s dog lay mutilated and almost lifeless on the ground. His master, however, enraged by his dog’s poor performance, dragged his animal by its throat to the water and held its head beneath the surface until it was dead. Despite the protests of some in the crowd, the butcher remained oblivious to pleas to save the poor dog. The crowd dispersed at pace as news of a police raid was circulated.

AMERICAN PRIZE FIGHT – LIMERICK MAN DEFEATED

Two hundred ‘gentlemen of leisure’ witnessed the secret and illegal clash between Limerick’s Jim Frawley and Charles Norton, the lightweight champion of New York, at a warehouse in Coney Island in May 1882. Known as the ‘Veteran Irish Pugilist’, Frawley lasted merely three rounds, much to the disappointment of the vociferous Irish supporters in attendance. Frawley, who had been accompanied into the ring by his seconds, Mike Noonan and Tim Hussey, sported gleaming white britches with green trimmings. However, Norton drew first blood in the contest with a right uppercut to Frawley’s lip. As the first round concluded, Norton was very much in the ascendancy. By the third round, Frawley was a well-beaten man and his seconds wisely threw their sponge into the ring to signal that the fight was over. As the Limerick man sat on his stool gasping for air, the patrons scattered with great haste as mounted police raided the warehouse. Amid the commotion, Frawley was arrested and taken by carriage to Bergen Street police station in Brooklyn, where he was charged with partaking in an illegal pugilistic gathering. Insult was duly added to the injury that Frawley had suffered at the hands of Norton when a sentence of three months’ imprisonment was handed down for his participation in the fight.

WOMEN’S PUGILISM IN VICTORIAN DUBLIN

On Saturday 4 August 1883, the Irish Examiner reported with great distaste an episode of what it labelled ‘a disgraceful display of female pugilism’, which had taken place in Capel Street the previous Tuesday. The article continued, ‘A pair of fishwives hailing from Pill Lane fought for the space of half an hour in the aforementioned street’. However, if the unregulated display of fighting was not bad enough, the newspaper reserved special criticism for ‘the large crowd of observers who, instead of mediating as peacemakers, spurred the protagonists on and suffered them to fight it out to the bitter end’. Notably, the article did not mention which of the protagonists had been declared victorious at the end of what must have been a gruelling contest.

PRIZE FIGHTINGIN SKIBBEREEN

The Temperance Hall in Skibbereen, County Cork, was hired on Sunday 1 November 1885 for the purposes of a ‘scientific lecture, illustrated with experiments’. What actually occurred was far from scientific. Between the hours of eleven and twelve o’clock in the morning, a local tinsmith and a butcher battled for a £20 prize in front of an intoxicated crowd. The noise created by the masses in attendance alerted local residents who ran to the police barracks to exclaim that a ‘bloody murder was taking place’. Immediately, Sergeant McGrath, together with constables Fanning and Deacon, went to the hall only to find that the disturbance had concluded. On making enquiries, McGrath was told that the ‘lecture’ had been interrupted by some ‘drunken roughs’ and that the temperance men had had great difficulty in ejecting them from the hall. Despite the tall tale, it was reported that the tinsmith had won the battle and claimed the purse.

JOHN L. SULLIVAN ATTHE ULSTER HALL –DECEMBER 1887

‘The lovers of sport in Belfast truly got their hearts’ delight last Saturday night 17th inst Mr. John L. Sullivan, the world-renowned champion of the gloves, appeared for the first time before a Belfast audience at the Ulster Hall, and seldom has such a scene been witnessed. Indeed, it might be said that from the moment the local manager, Mr. John Shorthouse, issued the announcement that Yankee Sullivan would visit Belfast and give a few tips to “the boys”, the greatest interest was taken by the lovers of the “noble art” in all classes of society. When the tickets were sent out a regular stampede was made for them and everything that followed on Saturday was in keeping with the keen public demand. Long before the hour of commencement of the fun at the Ulster Hall, the venue was besieged, and when the doors were flung open the ticket issuers and collectors had their hands full. Nevertheless, the utmost order prevailed, and the slightest semblance of roughness – something naturally to be anticipated on such an occasion – was not apparent at any of the entrances.

‘It is true, however, that quite a few of the audience did treat themselves to better seats than they were entitled to and some in their anxiety to see the champion stood on their seats, with the result being that some were indeed broken. No notice of the noisy affair, but for the occasional smile on the face of the pugilists who were facing each other, was evident amid the cracking and crashing sounds as the aforementioned seats succumbed to gravity. Things were somewhat different in Dublin when no less than 65 constables had to be called in to preserve order at the Gaiety Theatre during the exhibition by John L. and this speaks loudly of the past and future conduct of Belfast audiences. To facilitate the exhibition, a tidy roped-off platform had been erected a short distance from the orchestra for the performers and this attracted the gaze of all the assembled mass. This platform was all that could have been desired and at the outset it required only a little sawdust, and a little late on some more was added to make it thoroughly comfortable for those engaged upon it. Owing to the great crush outside the venue, it was almost eight o’clock before proceedings could be commenced. When the last of the numbers were put up in the hall, it was actually crammed to its capacity, and if we make exception for the shouting of the vendors of the programmes and photos of the “Bruiser” there was nothing to object to. Almost all hands enjoyed a whiff of the weed, as John L. has no objection to smoking. Indeed, it was a rare night when one considers that all classes of society were present and it was impossible to observe even an effort on the part of those with anti-boxing tendencies to make themselves heard, many of whom, no doubt, were in attendance building up the courage to view the punishment dished out by the protagonists.

‘It is recorded that recently even men of the cloth had witnessed the struggle between classic fight between Messrs. Sayers and Heenan, and few could have doubted this when surveying the assemblage congregated to greet Mr. Sullivan and his troupe on Saturday. The first two into the arena were a Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Murphy, with Mr. Philips keeping the time. The usual formality of the shaking of the hands was gone through and both youngsters being laced up began to go at each other with great gusto. Their display was fair enough, with Hopkins having the advantage if anything. The fight lasted three rounds and then Jack Hickey and Jim Kendrick appeared for their bout, in which great interest was shown. Indeed, it was a rare treat to see Hickey at work and at the end of each round he was warmly applauded. His backhanders were clever and in point he was much superior to his adversary. And then the moment arrived as the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Gallagher, introduced Sullivan who was warmly received with all rising to their feet and cheering enthusiastically. The champion responded and thanked the crowd for their warm reception. He had left Boston on 27th October and had come to this country to see the class of men we had here. He said that he hoped to have the pleasure of meeting the victor of the coming fight between Kilraine and Smith – and indeed Mitchell – with whom he would be meeting in the near future. Well, all these men will soon have the chance to test themselves against Sullivan, with the result a sure and foregone conclusion in the words of the Champion. This announcement was greeted with prolonged cheers from the packed hall and balcony.

‘Mr. Sullivan then retired to his dressing room and “Nune” Wallace and Charlie Williams took to the gloves. The fight was sharp and keen, but Nune had no chance against an opponent who was quick and nifty on his feet. Sam Blackrock and “Tricky” Hook followed them into the ring and while Sam was a cool customer, “Tricky” soon warmed his ears. Mr. Gallagher then introduced Harry S. Phillips and the backer of this slugger who stated that he was prepared to match him with anyone in the world to the sum of a shilling to $10,000. Mr. Phillips then bowed in acknowledgement. Sullivan and Mr. Jack Ashton then appeared in costume, the former in his boxing robe, and it was then that many left their seats to rush the platform, eager to shake the Champion’s hand. The Champion looked a great man, though slightly fleshy, and his limbs a trifle light; undoubtedly, when in form he must be a crusher! His jaws were quite heavy but nothing out of the way. At present, he is fifteen and one half stones weight; but when at work he would be taken at no more than twelve; he is so quick.

‘Four rounds were fought by the Champion and Ashton, who is known as a “squeezer”. It is needless to say that John L. could have wiped the floor with his friend; but it must also be said that Mr. Ashton through science and good work showed he is a past master of the game and the crowd warmed to his skill. Several times though Sullivan refrained from hitting when it was apparent that he could have removed his opponent over the ropes and into the crowd. However, the Champion was not minded to deliver the ending that the crowd wished for. The performance then ended with all in the venue most pleased with the performance. After Saturday’s exhibition, the lovers of sport in Belfast will be well pleased; and indeed Mr. Sullivan and his entourage will be fully aware that the lovers of sport in the city can appreciate a good thing. During the evening, Mr. Edgar Haine’s Orchestra gave a fine performance which added to the evening’s enjoyment. Mr. Sullivan and his troupe, we understand, were afterwards entertained in the Queen’s Hotel and, at ten o’clock left Belfast for Glasgow by steamer.’

(Belfast Telegraph, 19 December 1887)

PETER MAHER AT THE LEINSTER HALL

Galway-born Peter Maher (1869-1940) made his name in Ireland by winning the national middleweight title in 1888, and followed that achievement by taking the heavyweight title in 1890. With his credentials as a world-title contender now enhanced, Maher embarked on a tour of Ireland and his appearance in Dublin’s Leinster Hall on 23 August 1895 attracted an audience ‘twice the number than the hall was ever designed to hold’. Crowds in the arena climbed into an already crowded balcony, which visibly wilted under the weight of numbers. One of the warm-up bouts saw ‘two tall fellows, Ford and Clarke, beat each other with all the vigour of a Dutch housewife cleaning a carpet’.

During another contest between two soldiers, the crowd spilled into the reserved enclosure and the police were powerless as a serious crush ensued. As unofficial fisticuffs broke out amid the chaos in the crowd, the appearance of Maher in the ring was greeted by a massive roar that quelled the unrest to some extent. Maher’s agent announced to the crowd that a fee of £25 would be payable to any man who could survive four rounds with the champion. Immediately, a ‘giant of a man from London’ named Hudson stepped forward to take up the challenge. The fight lasted merely forty seconds until the Englishman was sent crashing to the canvas. Since nobody else came forward to take up the challenge, Maher boxed a tame exhibition against his coach, Mr Lowry.

Maher claimed the world heavyweight crown on 11 November 1895 when he beat the Cork-born Australian Steve O’Donnell in New York. He lost that title to Bob Fitzsimons three months later and his career thereafter was blighted by his lack of boxing finesse and an acute inability to ship a punch. On retirement, he became a well-known bartender in Philadelphia and died in Baltimore in 1940.

2

THE 1900S AND 1910S

JEM ROCHE GOES DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT

On St Patrick’s Day 1908, Ireland awoke to celebrate the country’s saint with the anticipation of a sporting extravaganza in the air. That evening, at Dublin’s Theatre Royal, Wexford’s Jem (James) Roche would meet Canada’s Tommy Burns for the world heavyweight title. Born Noah Brusso in Ontario in 1881, the Canadian adopted the name Tommy Burns after he had put an opponent, Ben O’Grady, into a coma and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He won the world title in 1906, beating ‘The Fightin’ Kentuckian’ Marvin Hart and had defended it on several occasions by the time he arrived in Ireland to face Roche. Jem Roche, a blacksmith by trade, had become the heavyweight champion of Ireland in 1905, when he had stopped ‘Young’ John L. Sullivan in the twentieth round of their contest in front of a record crowd at the Earlsfort Terrace Rink. Hopes were high – in Ireland anyway – that the Wexford man would bring sporting glory to Ireland on the feast of glorious St Patrick.

From early afternoon, many thousands thronged the streets around the Theatre Royal, hoping to catch a glimpse of both boxers. Burns stood merely 5ft 8in, and remains the smallest man ever to hold the world heavyweight title. By the time the fight commenced, a crowd of 3,500 (no doubt well ‘refreshed’ from a day’s celebrating) had crammed into the arena, expecting a ‘ding-dong’ battle. The prize at stake was a purse of 1,500 sovereigns; 80 per cent was to go to the winner. Roche was piped into the ring to the sound of ‘The Boys of Wexford’, while Burns followed to the tune of ‘Yankee Doodle’. By the time the preliminaries were completed, it was 10.15 p.m., but the crowd had merely eighty-eight seconds to wait for the spectacular demise of Roche. From the opening bell, Burns waited for his chance and, on taking a ‘gentle tap’ to the chin from Roche, he responded with a cracking right hook to Roche’s jaw that left him face down on the canvas. He was counted out as the thousands outside remained blissfully unaware that the fight had even begun. It is said that one astute spectator, showing great presence of mind, ran panting and dishevelled to the front door of the theatre exclaiming, ‘It’s terrible, it’s terrible! Roche is destroying him and I cannot watch it anymore! I am prepared to sell my ticket for 20 shillings to the first man to hand me the money.’ There was no shortage of takers and dozens fought to hand over their shillings for the prized ticket. With the transaction completed, the trickster vanished with great haste into the crowd.

Roche would hold the Irish heavyweight crown until August 1910 when he lost to Matthew Curran at the Empire Theatre. After trying his hand as a promoter, bookmaker and publican he died in his native Wexford in November 1934. Burns’ hold on the world title ended on 26 December 1908 in Sydney, Australia, when he lost to Jack Johnson in the fourteenth round of their bout.

CHAMPION BOXER ANDHIS WIFE

Sam Young, former middleweight champion of Ireland, had the unenviable task of defending a charge of neglecting his wife in a Belfast police court in January 1909. Claiming that Young had left his wife five months previously, Mr Liddell, representing Mrs Young, claimed that the boxer had earned £4 as the proceeds of a fight a week prior to the case and ‘never came to give her a penny’. Admitting that he had neglected his wife, Young offered to find her a home. The magistrate, Mr Wall QC, adjourned the case on the understanding that Mr and Mrs Young ‘would find a quiet settlement outside the court’.

YOUNG TAKES IRISH TITLE BY BEATING SULLIVAN

Dublin’s Antient Concert Rooms, which were situated at 52 Great Brunswick Street (now Pearse Street), was the location for many professional boxing bills in the early part of the twentieth century. On Monday 5 June 1911, the venue played host the battle for the middleweight championship of Ireland between Dublin’s Jim Young and the Irish-American ‘Young’ John L. Sullivan. The fight, which was for a stake of £200, attracted a healthy crowd, especially in the cheaper seats of the arena. The contest was over twenty rounds and saw both boxers in the ascendancy at various stages, but it turned in Young’s favour went he sent Sullivan through the ropes in the eighteenth round and face first onto the floor. It had been Sullivan’s fourth attempt to claim the Irish title, having lost three times previously to Wexford’s Jem Roche.

BOXING IN OMAGH GOES AHEAD DESPITE OPPOSITION

Professional boxing made its debut in the County Tyrone town of Omagh on St Patrick’s evening in 1916, despite opposition from local nationalists. The decision of the Urban Council to lease the Town Hall for the boxing bill prompted the local secretary of the Gaelic League, Mr Joseph Devlin, to write a strongly worded letter of protest to the Town Clerk. Stating that ‘the sport of boxing was not the way to celebrate the feast of the National Apostle’, Devlin requested that the tournament be cancelled and the promoter be issued with a caution. The letter was read out to the members of the council, but, after discussion, no action was taken. The bouts duly went ahead in front of a hall overflowing with spectators. The crowds were well entertained as they witnessed Omagh’s Tommy McGowan’s fifteen-round victory over Derry’s Bert McIntyre for the top prize of £10.

3

THE 1920S AND 1930S

‘COTTER’ BROGAN ANGERS THE CLONMEL FAITHFUL

Dubliner Herbert ‘Cotter’ Brogan made a name for himself in the Irish professional ranks in the 1920s. Brogan joined the army in 1911 and became popular at military tournaments, known for his style and powerful punching. His reputation was enhanced by impressive displays in bouts in England and France during the Great War. He was highly decorated in military terms during that period and returned to Ireland to try his hand in the professional game. He was, however, a boxer who could be somewhat crude in his tactics in the ring. In October 1921, Cotter travelled to the Oisin Theatre in Clonmel, County Tipperary, to face Waterford’s Young Jackson in a bantamweight bout. In the fourth round, Jackson complained to the referee that Brogan was ‘hitting low’. However, the official refused to intervene, prompting Jackson to leave the ring in protest. As Brogan stood alone amid an increasingly disgruntled crowd, a riot situation began to brew as missiles rained down on to the canvas. Eventually, Jackson restored a semblance of order by returning and the fight recommenced to what were described as ‘some lively exchanges’. An irritated Jackson proceeded to knock Brogan to the floor twice and, as the fight neared its end, the Dubliner resorted again to hitting below the belt. Eventually, the referee had seen enough and disqualified Brogan as the crowd screamed for the blood of the Dubliner. In the main bouts that evening, Kid Doyle of Dublin lost out to the local favourite Jack Carroll, while the Clonmel featherweight, Young Smith, beat Peter Cullen of Dublin on points.

MIKE MCTIGUE BEATS BATTLING SIKI ATSCALA THEATRE

Even the madness that prevailed on the streets of Dublin during the Civil War could not prevent the city coming to a standstill as County Clare’s Mike McTigue squared up to the world light-heavyweight champion ‘Battling Siki’ from Senegal at the Scala Theatre on St Patrick’s night in 1923. Michael Francis McTigue had been born into a family of twelve brothers and one sister in Kilnamona, near Ennis, on 26 November 1892. He emigrated from Ireland in 1908 and made a name for himself in both the United States and England before securing a match with Siki in Dublin. The money for the fight had been put up by a syndicate of Irish racehorse owners, led by promoter Tom Singleton. For the fledgling government of the Irish Free State, the hosting of the fight in Dublin conferred international legitimacy on the new political arrangements whilst chaos reigned throughout the country.