The first in a series of occasional articles on Boxing Heroes by Thomas Myler
For a small nation, there is little doubt that Ireland’s boxing heroes have punched well above their weight on the world’s stage.
Take Barry McGuigan. The politicians may have brought about peace on both sides of the border in the 1990s after many years of bombs, bullets and bloodshed. But a decade earlier, Barry played his part in reconciliation.
Billed as the ‘Clones Cyclone,’ McGuigan succeeded in bringing together north and south communities, Catholics and Protestants, and encouraged unity during the darkest days of the Troubles. As Ring magazine put it, “When Barry boxed, there was peace.”