I mentioned here a few weeks ago that Sliabh Luachra Boxing Club was on the move.
Due to circumstances outside its control it had to leave its NEWKD headquarters in The Crageens before the end of December.
Up the Road
It got over that and more and skipped off the couple of hundred yards up the road to the former O’Donoghue’s Garage on Rice’s Height on the Cordal Road. The garage was built there in 1969 / 1970.
The club committee and coaches are full of praise for the manner in which the community locally rowed in behind them in their hour of need.
Needless the say they were delighted to have a place to call home after the move but there was a lot of work involved in getting it into shape and looking like a boxing club / gym.
Community Gloved Up
That’s where the community gloved up and went the distance with them.
There was long distance help available also as Mort Reidy of ROL Construction in London sent over a cheque for €1,000.
Mort delegated the cheque presentation duties to his dad Willie and he did so on the club’s very first night in their new premises.
So Many People to Thank
“We’re delighted with the new building. We have everything here in terms of gym and ring area, changing facilities and office space,” said club secretary, Jennifer O’Sullivan-Coffey.
“We will be getting back to you some time soon as we have so many people to thank for making this space a reality for us and for the youth of the area.
Settling In
“We’d like to thank everyone publicly but we want to make sure that all the businesses and individuals who helped us wouldn’t mind being named,” said Jennifer.
And just as they are settling in to their new surroundings comes an invitation to Jennifer to take up the post of secretary of the Irish Junior Women’s Boxing Committee.
Trips to Dublin
This is a post for which she was nominated by the Munster council and will necessitate regular trips to Dublin.
It comes on the heels of her invitation last May to travel, as manager of the Irish team to the annual International Elite Men’s and Women’s Golden Belt Nicolae Linca Boxing Tournament in Iasa – the Cultural Capital of Romania.
The Current Incarnation
Though there has been a history of boxing in Castleisland for generations – much of it in the ring – the current incarnation of the club came about in the autumn of 2006 with about 30 members.
Among that membership were former Kerry, Munster and All-Ireland champions: John O’Connell, Ted Clifford, Dan Griffin and Eddie O’Shea.
Their influence and coaching experience laid the foundations for the thriving club we see today.
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