An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/999245
www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 41 REPoRt & PhotoS By CPL LEE CoyLE T he 27 Inf Bn recently held an amateur boxing night to promote the sport and to sup- port and connect with the boxing community near the barracks and around the country. the event was held in the Dermot Early gymnasium in Aiken Bks, Dundalk, with fighters from across the DF and a number of supporting clubs who reigned from Belfast to Dublin. The night was organised by Sgt Brendan Murray, who is the PTI Sgt in charge of the barracks gym. Sgt Mur- ray said, 'We organised the tournament to promote boxing within the Unit, for some of our boxers this was their first time fighting in a boxing ring, and it was a great opportunity to get them the experience.' We also asked Sgt Murray to tell us a bit about his passion for the sport and its role in the DF, "Boxing train- ing in general is one of the best forms of overall fitness, it makes a change to the daily fitness routines in the DF, by including boxing circuits, drills and car- dio needed for boxing. It can also keep troops interested and they learn new skills as their fitness improves." The tournament cup is named after recently retired Sgt Major Joe Mur- ray, and it will be a perpetual cup. Sgt Murray continued, 'This was in honour of Sgt Major Murray as he was a great ambassador for the 27 Inf Bn and sport, including the whole ethos of boxing through its fitness and discipline, he re- ally encouraged boxing training within the unit.' In the gym the boxing ring sat centre stage on the floor, while an impressive crowd gathered in the hall, all of them eager to cheer on the fighters. Looking after the proceedings for the evening as referee was Sgt Stephen Kelly (Cook Sgt, McKee Bks) and performing the duties of MC, and introducing each fighter and the fight results was Cpl Ciaran McGeogh, 27 Inf Bn. There were 12 fights in total on the night, some of which were exhibition fights; these had a mixture of classes, from younger fighters and even female fighters. The most energetic fights of the night came from rivalry between units, which made for great entertain- ment that the crowd really enjoyed. We asked Sgt Murray to tell us about the main event and which fight was the 'fight of the night'. "The fight of the night was in the 56kg class Pte Jack Carroll from the 27 Inf Bn Vs Daniel Branigan of St Michaels Club Belfast. These were two intermediate boxers that were very well matched. From the start of the bell in round one to the end of the bell in round three, they had the crowd on the edge of their seats with the fast pace punching. Both boxers gave it their all but it was Pte Carroll that was landing the cleaner punches with hooks to the body then to the head of Branigan, it was this that got him the unanimous decision." "The Main Fight of the evening was in the 69kg class between Pte Dom 'the Bomb' Donegan from 27 Inf Bn Vs Pte Dave Curley from 1 Inf Bn. This fight lived up to all its expectations with Pte Donegan proven just how fast and slip- pery he is on the counter punching by making Curley miss then catching him with crisp shots before he moved off. But Donegan didn't have it all his own way as Curley showed how dangerous he is by the non-stop aggressive work on the inside. It was another excellent high paced action fight with Donegan getting the well-earned decision in the end.' The evening was a great success and was very entertaining for all, I would like to thank Sgt Brendan Murray and the 27 Inf Bn for the invitation and their hospitality. Pte Dom 'the Bomb' Donegan, 27 Inf Bn gets the victory against Pte Dave Curley, 1 Inf Bn. Retired Sgt Major Joe Murray presents Daniel Branigan, St Michaels Club, Belfast with his perpetual trophy.