“Well it goes back to the 1980s…part of it was to stop drug dealing, and the other part then would have been to develop community facilities” Head Coach, Ronnie Byrne
St. Catherine’s Boxing Club on the edge of Dublin’s Coombe was founded in 2008, after Ronnie and members of a local Concerned Parents Group spent over a decade lobbying for construction of community facilities on Marrowbone Lane in Dublin 8. It’s at the heart of the local community, and is home to around 80 boxers, providing training on most weeknights. The club is one of the four founder clubs of IABA’s High Five Boxing Academy for children with additional needs, which has since been rolled out throughout the association.
This film, telling the story of the club, is part of the IABA’s Seconds Out: Stories of Irish Boxing series, supported by Sport Ireland, and is produced by Lowki Culture. St Catherine’s was profiled after winning a public vote, and this film is the 6th in a series which includes films on the Mammy of Irish Boxing, Anna Moore; a sneak-peak in to High Performance Boxing, on Eugene Duffy who is one of Ireland’s longest serving officials, and Connacht’s Gus Farrell. The suite of films is available HERE
“While we’re a boxing club, we class ourselves as a community boxing club. We’re not necessarily focused on the results…we’re focused on the kids” says Head Coach Ronnie Byrne – the premium placed on children, their sense of belonging and their confidence is echoed by Coach, Trish McLoughlin “ It’s not all about champions for us. It’s about keeping kids off the street, keeping them right”
Kellie McLoughlin, Trish’s daughter, is the reigning Elite 60kg champion. She says the club’s sense of community has lifted and supported her “I’ve come back to the club after losing a lot of times and they’ve made me feel like I’ve won. It’s amazing the feeling that they give you. You lose and they say – you got in the ring, you done brilliant. It just wasn’t your day it will eventually come”
The club is also home to Barcelona Olympian and 1991 European Champion and now coach, Pauly Griffin, and coach Jimmy Halpin, who was recently awarded the IABA Lifetime Services to boxing award. Pauly says “I can’t even explain how important they (club leadership Ronnie Byrne, Karl and Trish McLoughlin) are to the community. They are here day in, day out. I’m just happy to be a part of it and give something back”
Two time Irish champion, 14 year old Charley Scott says “They’re like my second family. I can talk to them about anything….Young girls are worried that it’s a boys’ sport, well, that’s what people say. Just don’t listen!”