An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 33 out between opposing nations, 'Gladiators' in a colos- seum environment, this was as close as you would get. All soldiers are romanticists at heart, and I suppose anyone who can relate to us as soldiers realise there is something magical and unique about soldiers who are prepared to go to war physically in the ring as real life gladiator representatives of their nations. The team had shown amazing qualities and perfor- mances, so far, 7th Battalions Pte Stephen Lockhard proving the age old saying that if your going to beat an opposing fighter in the first round of their home countries competition you are going to have to knock them out. Unfortunately he did not knock him out but the team and spectators were in no doubt as to why the Irish were renowned as 'The Fighting Irish'. There is a very good reason why some of Irelands most successful elite boxers have their names on the walls of the renowned old national elite stadium on the south circular road. Pte Ross Hickey from the DFTC is one of the most successful Irish Army boxers in history and having narrowly missed out on a place at the Rio Olympics, The world military games was an opportunity for him to win that world medal he so richly deserved, however we don't always get what we deserve in sport. Ross fought at 69kgs and in order for qualification he had to be the man who had his arm raised on the finals of the elite army championships. The place on the CISM team was going to the winner at the inaugural all army finals between DFTCs Ross and the 27th Battalions own 'The Dark Destroyer' Pte Alan White. The referee after the bout announced that it was the best fight he had ever witnessed and he only wished he had been a spectator for it. Unfortu- nately in China one minute into the first round Hickey sustained a cut to the nose from his Polish opponents head, and the ringside doctor immediately called a halt to proceedings, it was an unfortunate end to the fight but these were factors outside of our control, Hickey needed 8 stitches in his nose after the fight but again he had represented well. Galway's Antoine O'Griofa and Mick Connelly fought valiantly and brought great pride for the supporting Irish soccer players and manager Richie Barber who also represented us greatly but Offaly's own Brian Kennedy DFTC brought the stadium to their feet with his 'toe to toe non-stop engagement' only to be denied by a hometown decision. Leona Houlihan from Crumlin boxing club having won two national elite championships in 2017/18 was the first elite lady fighter to repre- sent the Irish Army at a world military games and proudly represented going out in the quarter finals. The spectators had come for wars and if the Irish were fighting they were guaranteed brave and honourable displays. We disembarked the coach into our own cubicle in the warm up area where Danny had already quite the fan club from the nearby student population. We were nearly two hours early for the fight, but we had a lot of preparations to make. The cubicle consisted of a massage table where Danny could rest once he got settled, we would register his presence with the officials, get his gloves issued and his wraps checked. It was fascinating to watch the pre-fight rituals of the alternative fighters warming up. The main fights were televised on large screens inside the warm up area. I happily found Danny resting in his cubicle, as the rest of us were getting nervous. Danny seemed small in comparison to his opposi- tion but maybe that was just me. This was where Sgt John Molloy came to the fore in his ability to distract Danny but keep him mentally prepared for what he needed to focus on. Former 2nd Battalion and '2 time' olympian, Crumlins Phil Sutcliffe was No. 2 to John but the combination of both men in bringing the best from the competitors was fascinating. One such moment of sheer genius from Phil and demonstrat- ing why he recently cornered Conor McGregor in the Donald Cerrone fight was when just before Danny was due to fight the French champion he pretended to the French coaches as they watched Danny on the pads that he was a southpaw fighter. It took Danny all of 20 Pte O'Brien poses with his coaches Pte Danny O'Brien (centre) with (L to R) Comdt Adrian Watson, COL Tom O'Callaghan, Brig Gen (now Ret'd) O'Halloran and Sgt John Molloy

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