THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of Baldoyle Boxing Club.
Since the club, founded by Irish champion boxer, Ned Hendricks, in 1983, was established it has enjoyed many successes and continues to play a tremendous part in the community.
The club first opened in Baldoyle Youth Centre, moved to Baldoyle Community Hall and is now located at Baldoyle United Football Club.
The local residents’ association wanted boxing in the area to keep kids off the street and out of trouble.
At this time boxing was very prominent in Dublin. The 1980s were filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. This had a huge part to play in the establishment of the boxing community in Baldoyle.
With the aid of the Irish Sports Council, grants from Fingal County Council and, most importantly, voluntary work from proud trainers around the area, the boxing club saw its first Irish Championship success in 1985 with Gerard Riordan.
The achievements didn’t stop there. Paul Hendricks won an Irish Intermediate Championship, Micheal Sexton was crowned Irish Champion, Christy Dunne was Irish Youth Champion, Conor Ahern won three Irish senior titles, and Steven Fennessy was the Youth Champion of Ireland.
“Today, with the help of trainers Christy Dunne, Gabriel Fitzpatrick, Damien Gary, Darren Egan, Clem Kelly, Pat Crowley and Jackie McQuillan the club is, at the moment, as strong as ever,
? says Ned Hendricks.
With Olympic gold medalist, Katie Taylor, being so successful, unsurprisingly there has been and influx of girls into the sport. So, has this altered the way that boxing is perceived?
“Boxing is now seen as a more technical based sport,
? says Mr Hendricks.
At Baldoyle Boxing Club, the girls have been another magnificent success.
Leinster champion Tina Donnelly and Dublin champions Megan Cushen and Emma Flannery have brought more prestige to the club, and it’s exciting to think how much more they’ll achieve in the future.
The club’s main goal has always been to one day own its own premises. This means that members would be less restricted to the times that they could train, which would ensure more flexibility.
In order to keep the club at its peak, plenty of support from the community is always needed.
Baldoyle Boxing Club will proudly be hosting a 30th anniversary boxing show at Bewley’s Hotel on May 10. The doors are open at 7.30pm to everyone. The club would love to see a large attendance, including former and new members, to make it a night to remember for the special milestone.
Meanwhile, if you fancy becoming the next Muhammad Ali or Katie Taylor, drop down to Baldoyle Football Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 7pm, and Saturdays from 11am to 12.30pm.