Freddie Gilroy with Liam Neeson. The Oscar winning actor is holding a picture of himself aged eight with Gilroy
Irish boxing legend Freddie Gilroy sadly passed away today aged 80.
Freddie Gilroy, who was from Ardoyne in north Belfast, won a bronze medal for Ireland in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
The Irish bantamweight, who boxed out of the St John Bosco BC, received a bye in the preliminaries in Melbourne. He beat Boris Stepanov of the USSR and Mario Sitro of Italy en route to the semi-finals where he was beaten by Germany’s Wolfgang Behrendt, the eventual Olympic champion.
The Melbourne 1956 boxing team won four medals, a total only equalled by the London 2012 side.
Freddie Gilroy switched codes after the 1956 Games and won British, Commonwealth and European titles.
In 1960, he lost on points to France’s Alphonse Halimi for the World Bantamweight title.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association extends its deep condolences to the Gilroy family.