KNOCK-OUT NIGHT FOR OMAGH
Knock-out night for Omagh
BOXING
JACK MAGOWAN
IT was just like old times as Barry McGuigan battled his way through a sea of happy smiling faces to an excited ringside.
Only the stage was different. Substitute Omagh Leisure Centre for the King's Hall on the night boxing paid homage to those who died, and were injured, in a bomb outrage that shocked the world.
Twelve champions in all took a bow from the ring, among them four ex-world champions - Frank Bruno, Steve Collins, Glenn McCrory and pin-up boy McGuigan.
It was like a 'Who's Who' of boxing legends, a march past of fighters whose glory days are over, but are still recognised and admired by everybody.
The thunderous cheer that lifted the roof of a packed stadium when the big three, Bruno, McGuigan and Collins were introduced could have been heard in Strabane had the wind been blowing in the right direction.
"Like Frank, Steve, Glenn and the others I'm proud to be supporting a very special occasion," declared Barry.
"How good it is to meet our two young guests of honour tonight - Donna Marie Keyes and Gary McGillion. They are the real heroes on a night like this."
McGillion and his badly injured fiancee were shopping for their wedding day on that terrible Saturday afternoon three months ago. Breda, Gary's niece was to have been a flower girl at their wedding. She was only two-years-old and one of the youngest victims to die.
The night was a knock-out, yet nobody threw a punch.
Tribute indeed to the two men who organised it all, Paddy McMahon, leader of the Omagh Boys and Girls Club, and local schoolmaster Ronnie McLernon. McCrory and his wife Amanda were Ronnie's house guests.
Dave McAuley, Freddie Gilroy, Ray Close and the Derry legends, Billy Kelly and Charlie Nash, were also ringside guests on a sporting night with a difference.
BOXING
JACK MAGOWAN
IT was just like old times as Barry McGuigan battled his way through a sea of happy smiling faces to an excited ringside.
Only the stage was different. Substitute Omagh Leisure Centre for the King's Hall on the night boxing paid homage to those who died, and were injured, in a bomb outrage that shocked the world.
Twelve champions in all took a bow from the ring, among them four ex-world champions - Frank Bruno, Steve Collins, Glenn McCrory and pin-up boy McGuigan.
It was like a 'Who's Who' of boxing legends, a march past of fighters whose glory days are over, but are still recognised and admired by everybody.
The thunderous cheer that lifted the roof of a packed stadium when the big three, Bruno, McGuigan and Collins were introduced could have been heard in Strabane had the wind been blowing in the right direction.
"Like Frank, Steve, Glenn and the others I'm proud to be supporting a very special occasion," declared Barry.
"How good it is to meet our two young guests of honour tonight - Donna Marie Keyes and Gary McGillion. They are the real heroes on a night like this."
McGillion and his badly injured fiancee were shopping for their wedding day on that terrible Saturday afternoon three months ago. Breda, Gary's niece was to have been a flower girl at their wedding. She was only two-years-old and one of the youngest victims to die.
The night was a knock-out, yet nobody threw a punch.
Tribute indeed to the two men who organised it all, Paddy McMahon, leader of the Omagh Boys and Girls Club, and local schoolmaster Ronnie McLernon. McCrory and his wife Amanda were Ronnie's house guests.
Dave McAuley, Freddie Gilroy, Ray Close and the Derry legends, Billy Kelly and Charlie Nash, were also ringside guests on a sporting night with a difference.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0509
Published Date: 19-Nov-98
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