This was an article printed in the Irish Amateur Boxing Association Newsletter in February 2007. It was a brief history of the club which was researched by Patrick Mc Donagh Geesala Boxing Club's secretary. The club has gone on to even greater success since.
Brief History of Geesala Boxing club.
“And in the blue corner, hailing from the land of the salty breeze”. One of the proudest nights of my life to be a Geesala man and a member of the Geesala Boxing club as Harry McGavock introduced Henry Coyle in the 69kg senior final 2004 against the vastly experienced and highly formidable opponent in the red corner, James Moore.
I have been involved with the Geesala boxing club since it’s rejuvenation in the late 70’s, firstly as a boxer and now in the last few years as a coach, referee and judge. The Geesala Boxing Club was first formed in the mid 50’s by the local curate at the time Fr. Joe Harte. The club was very successful at county and provincial level, but in the 50’s there was no mention of the “Celtic tiger” and many clubs in more rural parts of Ireland, including Geesala, could not afford to send their provincial champions to box in the National Stadium, and so the full potential of many of our boxers was never realised. That was until a junior light-heavy weight named Henry Coyle, a man once described as “having a sleeping pill in each fist” was sent to represent his club and compete at national level. The money required for this big excursion was raised locally with fundraisers, and generated huge local support at a time when the country could best described as third world, but such was Henry’s potential it was considered a very good investment. On that Friday night in December 1959 the dream of the entire area was realised and the investment paid dividend, as Henry was victories in capturing the junior light-heavy weight crown and the first national title for the Geesala Boxing Club. Henry went on to represent his country on seven different occasions. However, Ireland at the time offered very little in the way of work or opportunities to the young men and women, and so emigration beckoned and the promise of a better life in America, England or Australia took most of the talent from our area as in many others. As a result the club closed in the mid-late sixties.
Although boxing had a brief revival again in the mid 70’s in the neighbouring village, Doohoma, the numbers were not there to sustain the club and it closed again after a couple of seasons. It was not again until 1979 when Gerry Coyle, younger brother of Henry Coyle, re-opened the Geesala boxing club and together with Patrick Barrett (RIP), recipient of the Mayo Hall of Fame award for over 50 years involvement in the sport, began to recruit members, and the club was once again re-born. In the past 27 years the club has gone from strength to strength, with boxers winning numerous Mayo and Connacht titles at every level from boy 1 through to senior. The club has also gained 20 national titles, 5 coming in one season including the coveted senior title won by Henry Coyle and nephew of Henry. The night following that triumphant victory, as the huge entourage entered Erris to bonfires, music and cheering crowds, we felt the world was at our feet, that there was nothing we couldn’t achieve. There was great talk of Olympic qualifiers but within a few short weeks following the high of winning the title, the club, and in particular Henry, felt the bitterness of the low as he was dropped for the second Olympic qualifier after failing to qualify from the first. Anger, resentment, disappointed and sympathy were the emotions felt by many throughout the country, and especially by those closest to Henry, as it was felt he got a raw deal being replaced by the very man he had defeated in the final some weeks previously.
Many hundreds of kids have walked through the local community centre doors where Geesala Boxing Club is run, all carrying out their duties both inside and outside the ring with courage and pride - not all as successful as perhaps they would have liked, and yet all still playing and integral part in adding to the success of those lucky enough to have claimed may titles the club has amassed. No one boxer deserves to be mentioned more than any other and to quote Gerry “ any young lad that has the courage to walk through those doors never mind stepping into the ring deserves respect”. However, it would be re-miss of me not to mention the outstanding achievements of three former boxers from the club, including four times national boy and youth champion Jimmy Monaghan, world police and fire brigade heavyweight champion 2005 Donal Barrett, and national junior and senior champion (2004), world military bronze(2003) and world military gold (2005) champion Henry Coyle. All have set a very high standard for the new recruits to try to emulate, and all have come back to the club when their busy schedules permit, to encourage and train the new club members.
Ours is a close knit community and in being so champions feet are kept firmly fixed on the ground. “No room for big heads around here” you would be quickly told if you were getting ideas above your station. Among our many champions all honours were received with dignity, trips made to the local schools and homes of the elderly for photographs at their request.
All of these boxers and many more not mentioned have shown tremendous dedication to achieve the accolades at such a high level in their chosen sport. As all management teams and indeed boxers can testify, dedication is the prime factor for achieving success in any club. Geesala is a rural area situated on the west coast. Down through the years I have been asked many times “where exactly is Geesala?” and the most descriptive answer I could give is “we are so far west that the next town over is New York”. Living in such a rural area you quickly get used to travelling, and at the moment in the club we have kids doing a seventy mile round trip to come to training, and many more doing anything from twenty to fifty mile round trip 2-3 times per week. You know kids, and indeed parents, do not suffer from a lack of dedication when making these journeys. These kids are easy to work with because they want to be there. This may be part of the secret to the success of the Geesala Boxing Club, together with the overwhelming support giving by the locals over the years.
The running of any club is an expensive endeavour and the more successful the club the higher the running costs. Funds for the club have always been raised through a very well supported and successful tournament. In excess of a thousand people come to the show every year, and sponsorship by local businessmen together with some funding from Udaras na Gaeltachta has kept the club afloat. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the club eight coaches, including Nicholas Cruz, and 12 boxers from all over Connacht boxed the Chicago champions, beating them 10-12, with an impressive display of skill and courage shown by all team members against a hotly favoured Chicago team.
Ireland now welcomes many foreign nationals to its shores, and with the impact of the Celtic tiger we have many people from the eastern block countries and indeed many other countries working among us. The Geesala Club has in its membership Polish nationals training and fighting for the club and showing the same dedication and pride to the club as any of its other members.
The club has gone from strength to strength and has adapted to the many changes and challenges it has had to face down through the years. This is also one of its strengths, the ability to adapt to move forward, and this is thanks to an excellent management team. The Geesala Boxing Club is starting into its 28th season with a good mix of youth and experience among its boxers an also its coaching staff. The future looks bright for the club from the “Land of salty breeze”.
I have been involved with the Geesala boxing club since it’s rejuvenation in the late 70’s, firstly as a boxer and now in the last few years as a coach, referee and judge. The Geesala Boxing Club was first formed in the mid 50’s by the local curate at the time Fr. Joe Harte. The club was very successful at county and provincial level, but in the 50’s there was no mention of the “Celtic tiger” and many clubs in more rural parts of Ireland, including Geesala, could not afford to send their provincial champions to box in the National Stadium, and so the full potential of many of our boxers was never realised. That was until a junior light-heavy weight named Henry Coyle, a man once described as “having a sleeping pill in each fist” was sent to represent his club and compete at national level. The money required for this big excursion was raised locally with fundraisers, and generated huge local support at a time when the country could best described as third world, but such was Henry’s potential it was considered a very good investment. On that Friday night in December 1959 the dream of the entire area was realised and the investment paid dividend, as Henry was victories in capturing the junior light-heavy weight crown and the first national title for the Geesala Boxing Club. Henry went on to represent his country on seven different occasions. However, Ireland at the time offered very little in the way of work or opportunities to the young men and women, and so emigration beckoned and the promise of a better life in America, England or Australia took most of the talent from our area as in many others. As a result the club closed in the mid-late sixties.
Although boxing had a brief revival again in the mid 70’s in the neighbouring village, Doohoma, the numbers were not there to sustain the club and it closed again after a couple of seasons. It was not again until 1979 when Gerry Coyle, younger brother of Henry Coyle, re-opened the Geesala boxing club and together with Patrick Barrett (RIP), recipient of the Mayo Hall of Fame award for over 50 years involvement in the sport, began to recruit members, and the club was once again re-born. In the past 27 years the club has gone from strength to strength, with boxers winning numerous Mayo and Connacht titles at every level from boy 1 through to senior. The club has also gained 20 national titles, 5 coming in one season including the coveted senior title won by Henry Coyle and nephew of Henry. The night following that triumphant victory, as the huge entourage entered Erris to bonfires, music and cheering crowds, we felt the world was at our feet, that there was nothing we couldn’t achieve. There was great talk of Olympic qualifiers but within a few short weeks following the high of winning the title, the club, and in particular Henry, felt the bitterness of the low as he was dropped for the second Olympic qualifier after failing to qualify from the first. Anger, resentment, disappointed and sympathy were the emotions felt by many throughout the country, and especially by those closest to Henry, as it was felt he got a raw deal being replaced by the very man he had defeated in the final some weeks previously.
Many hundreds of kids have walked through the local community centre doors where Geesala Boxing Club is run, all carrying out their duties both inside and outside the ring with courage and pride - not all as successful as perhaps they would have liked, and yet all still playing and integral part in adding to the success of those lucky enough to have claimed may titles the club has amassed. No one boxer deserves to be mentioned more than any other and to quote Gerry “ any young lad that has the courage to walk through those doors never mind stepping into the ring deserves respect”. However, it would be re-miss of me not to mention the outstanding achievements of three former boxers from the club, including four times national boy and youth champion Jimmy Monaghan, world police and fire brigade heavyweight champion 2005 Donal Barrett, and national junior and senior champion (2004), world military bronze(2003) and world military gold (2005) champion Henry Coyle. All have set a very high standard for the new recruits to try to emulate, and all have come back to the club when their busy schedules permit, to encourage and train the new club members.
Ours is a close knit community and in being so champions feet are kept firmly fixed on the ground. “No room for big heads around here” you would be quickly told if you were getting ideas above your station. Among our many champions all honours were received with dignity, trips made to the local schools and homes of the elderly for photographs at their request.
All of these boxers and many more not mentioned have shown tremendous dedication to achieve the accolades at such a high level in their chosen sport. As all management teams and indeed boxers can testify, dedication is the prime factor for achieving success in any club. Geesala is a rural area situated on the west coast. Down through the years I have been asked many times “where exactly is Geesala?” and the most descriptive answer I could give is “we are so far west that the next town over is New York”. Living in such a rural area you quickly get used to travelling, and at the moment in the club we have kids doing a seventy mile round trip to come to training, and many more doing anything from twenty to fifty mile round trip 2-3 times per week. You know kids, and indeed parents, do not suffer from a lack of dedication when making these journeys. These kids are easy to work with because they want to be there. This may be part of the secret to the success of the Geesala Boxing Club, together with the overwhelming support giving by the locals over the years.
The running of any club is an expensive endeavour and the more successful the club the higher the running costs. Funds for the club have always been raised through a very well supported and successful tournament. In excess of a thousand people come to the show every year, and sponsorship by local businessmen together with some funding from Udaras na Gaeltachta has kept the club afloat. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the club eight coaches, including Nicholas Cruz, and 12 boxers from all over Connacht boxed the Chicago champions, beating them 10-12, with an impressive display of skill and courage shown by all team members against a hotly favoured Chicago team.
Ireland now welcomes many foreign nationals to its shores, and with the impact of the Celtic tiger we have many people from the eastern block countries and indeed many other countries working among us. The Geesala Club has in its membership Polish nationals training and fighting for the club and showing the same dedication and pride to the club as any of its other members.
The club has gone from strength to strength and has adapted to the many changes and challenges it has had to face down through the years. This is also one of its strengths, the ability to adapt to move forward, and this is thanks to an excellent management team. The Geesala Boxing Club is starting into its 28th season with a good mix of youth and experience among its boxers an also its coaching staff. The future looks bright for the club from the “Land of salty breeze”.