History of Cardonagh Boxing Club
Donegal - Ireland

The club is situated in a small town and invites boxers from all surrounding areas and over the years the club has produced many talented boxers who to date have completed at various levels. Some of our more successful boxers, have represented the club at County level and have travelled to various places, only just recently to Wales as part of a team many having gained Donegal Championships, Nine County Championships and Ulster Championships over the past few years i.e Stephen Mulhern Donegal and North West Shane Canny Donegal and Nine County Champion, Padre Canny Donegal and Ulster Champ and all Ireland Semi-Finalist Patrick McLaughlin Donegal and Ulster Champ and All Ireland Finalist to name but a few.

Carndonagh’s Firm tradition in boxing has ensured that the local boxing club has produced top amateur contenders for more than 50 years.

The long list of medallists in the club’s hall of fame – which dates to the 1930s – is impressive with memorable boxers such as Ned and Mark Smith, Jim ‘Tiger’ McGuinness, John ‘Packie’ McGuinness, Packie Doherty (Fintan), Frank the Taylor and Andy McCloskey taking top honours, and it’s the successful groundwork laid by those early pugilists that has attracted so much support for the local club.

Carn Boxing Club (CBC) has something that never ceases to amaze – “for many years the strong sponsorship and support has been brilliant” said club Chairman and coach, John Mulhern.

“Without that the club would not have been able to continue. We would hope to carry on for many more years with that great support” he added.

For the chairman and other three coaches at the club, Liam McLaughlin (Owen), John Doherty (Lynch) and Daniel Gallagher, the core aim of boxing is to instil discipline in the youngsters who take part.

“I feel the biggest achievement over the years has been the way the club has taken the young off the street and given them a sense of discipline and confidence. Its not about fighting at all really, it’s about discipline more than anything else. Discipline is very important nowadays as it seems it’s needed now more than ever” he said.

The current coaching staff at the club all cut their amateur boxing teeth in Carndonagh and some of their children are now following in their footsteps.

During the past 20 years the club has come full circle with a lot of familiar names returning to the sport both as coaches or boxers.

John himself successfully competed for CBC between 1979 and 1985 and was even selected to represent Ireland in international competition.

I was once picked to represent Ireland in Atlantic City but I pulled out in the end – I always regretted that decision.

Today, John’s children and the kids of other former members make up an integral part of the 40 strong club membership which also includes a few girls.

The club’s current success story, however, is Michael McLaughlin (Owen), a 20 year old fighter who only recently formed part of an Irish select which faced Denmark. “He’s an excellent boxer, very fast,” said John.

We’re still turning out champions and have some very good young boxers such as the Doherty brothers, Declan and Robert, the McLaughlin brothers, Michael and Adrian, the Mulherns, the Cannys, the Bonners and the Kellys. We’ve had a few who’ve had major achievements in recent years added the chairman.

“However, as with so many other local clubs, Carndonagh’s Achilles heel in terms of attracting major funding to develop facilities, has been the fact that it does not own its own premises.

We have been in rented accommodation for years and we still have not got our own place. At the moment we are in the old youth club building at the GAA pitch. We have received a small amount of funding although it only amounted to 3,000 euro from the Irish Lotto for some equipment,” said the chairman.

“Getting funding is a big problem, and awful problem, unbelievable, I think we’ve left it too late – land is very expensive to get now.” He added.

Organised boxing in Carndonagh dates from the 1930’s when there were a total of five different clubs in the town. By 1950 the clubs had all been amalgamated into Carndonagh Boxing Club under Jim McConnell and Pat Reid.

During the 1950’s a number of impressive local fighters emerged at the club including names such as the McLaughlin brothers (Hatters), Mickey, Bertie, Colm and Ken, Philip Doherty “Cutter”, Paddy McClure, Leonard Harkin, Jim Callaghan, Jackie McGonagle and Pat McMonagle. Due to the strain of emigration and Inishowen’s young population, the club was forced to shut down during the 1960’s until its revival by Jim Callaghan and Eamon Doherty in 1975.

Since then a strong committee kept the club running and bought a number of promising young talent to the fore on local, national and international boxing circuits. The other men behind that revival were the late Jim “Tiger” McGuinness, the late Ernie Graham, Colm McLaughlin, Mickey McLaughlin, Charlie Harkin and the late Eamon Doherty.

The club has gone from strength to strength since with many a good night of boxing in the Lilac Ballroom, featuring the like of Phelim McCallion, Roger McGuinness, Eamon McCole and many more he said.

In the early 1980s we won the Johnny Black Club two years in a row for being the best boxing club in Ulster. It was a team of boxers such as the current chairman and his brother, Danny which helped bring that success to the club. Seamus Hegarty, John Doherty ‘Copen’ Jimmy Diver, John Diver and James Cann all served to strengthen the club in the early 80s, said John.

That trend was continued into the 1990s by boxers including Jeff McLaughlin (Hatter), Mickey Crossan, Mick Hirrell, Daniel Callaghan, Ronan Doran and John Doherty (Lynch), added the Chairman