Boxing, surely, is the least forgiving of all sports. Nothing is more bare than that moment when a referee raises an opponent's hand. This writer remembers that moment when it arrived for Wayne McCullough in Barcelona on Saturday, August 8th, 1992. The sadness on the young Belfast man's face is etched in memory.
Michael Carruth's subsequent gold medal victory within the hour still ranks as one of the great Irish sporting achievements, but McCullough shares it for his courageous and graceful acceptance of his painful defeat. But, not all bouts are won in the ring. For many years there has been an ongoing conflict outside the ropes in Irish amateur boxing which has done enormous damage to the sport not only at home but internationally.
Fortunately, young boxers like Carruth and McCullough were not involved. Yet others may very well have been frustrated by squabbling and internecine division with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) which, quite literally, allowed boxing within the ring to take second place to that which was going on outside it. Some administrators seemed to be more interested in promoting themselves and others within the corridors of power in European, Olympic and international boxing than in promoting and supporting the the sport at home. Last Saturday has, hopefully, brought boxing administration onto a new and more hopeful plain.
There was even laughter last Saturday when the president of the association, Breandan O Conaire, announced that a set of audited accounts from the trustees of the IABA were handed to members of the Central Council (and the press) with the wry comment that they were not numbered and that Central Council delegates were not required to give them back before leaving the meeting. This was a studied reference to previous occasions when Central Council members were not given any opportunity to study the financial affairs of the sport which they were charged with running. Profit and loss accounts and balance sheets were supposed to be understood and absorbed within a few minutes before being returned to the top table. Nobody was allowed to leave the meeting without surrendering his copy.
In effect, the members of the Central Council of the IABA were being kept in the dark as far as the financial affairs of boxing were concerned. Happily, amateur boxing in Ireland now seems to have crossed the Rubicon. Control of the sport has been handed over to the elected members of the Central Council and all financial and other matters will soon be put in the hands of the elected members.
It will also mean that all premises which are owned by the IABA, including the National Stadium, the Ringside Club and the gymnasium attached thereto, will be under the total control of the Central Council.
Previously splinter groups vied with each other for control of IABA finances and, while nobody suggested that there was any mishandling of funds generated by the National Stadium's bingo nights and concerts or the income from the licensed premises under the control of the Ringside Club, the secrecy which permeated these activities caused widespread discontent and doubt throughout the association. These feelings caused many, many problems within the association and led to resignations, heated debates, accusations, verbal abuse and threats of court action. This newspaper and this writer paid a price for all of that, but not without some pride that the matters outlined above were brought into the public domain. Two men stand out in what has now been achieved as the IABA advances into the new millennium. It is the belief of this column that Harry Doherty from Belfast was the chief mover in dragging the IABA into the situation in which it now finds itself. A man of great honesty and integrity, Harry, did not suffer fools gladly and he too paid a price and finally resigned from the standing committee and Central Council of the IABA. To some extent, health problems intruded and he opted out when he believed that he was not getting the support that he needed and deserved.
The other man was Breandan O Conaire. He was a reluctant seeker of office and can be criticised for not playing a more prominent role in the over-throw of the ancien regime. Yet, when the chips were finally down he poked his head over the parapet and proved that he was prepared to stay in the kitchen when the heat was turned up.
The IABA now welcomes a new dawn which promises to bring advantage and even prosperity. The premises which it owns on South Circular Road represent a pearl without price.
With such a property at its disposal there is no reason for amateur boxing to fear for its future. As a sporting organisation which has already contributed enormously to Irish sporing life it can look forward to bigger and better things. Already there are signs that arrangements are being put in place to develop its potential and put amateur boxing onto a new plain of achievement. On the back of that there is a desire to co-operate with other sporting bodies to provide training and other facilities which can benefit everyone. The GAA has led the way in this regard and the IABA, which borrowed its basic structure from the GAA in the first place, can look at what has been achieved in Croke Park and elsewhere.
Like the GAA, the IABA is an all-Ireland body and it too can prosper from the peace process as it develops.
When the new deed of trust is accepted by the AGM of the IABA next month (as it surely will be) amateur boxing in Ireland will have secured its future after several years of bitter wrangling.
