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06 Sept 2025

St. Joseph's ABC celebrates 30-year milestone

St. Joseph's

St. Joseph’s ABC coaches Roy Nash, Ryan Tracey, Danny Doherty, Kevin Duffy, Rory McCallion, Liam McLaughlin and Cahir Duffy. Pics by Tom Heaney, nwpresspics

St. Joseph’s ABC celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023, with the club in arguably its strongest position to date in terms of numbers and importance to the Galliagh community.

Last Friday, the Gransha club was packed out as boxing fans, families and friends showed their support for the next generation of St. Joseph’s talent on a memorable and exciting night for everyone involved.

The club, which started out in 1993 thanks to the efforts of Paddy McLaughlin, Paddy Duddy and Pat Campbell, has come a long, long way since then, surviving hardship, covid and plenty of other challenges along the way.

Now, as the club reaches its 30th year, those in charge can reflect on how far boxing has come in the Galliagh area, and just how far it can go in the future.

Coaches Cahir Duffy, Liam McLaughlin and Kevin Duffy joke that they have been trapped over the years, but there is no doubting the affection they have for the club and the young boxers who come through its doors every week.

“Paddy McLaughlin, Paddy Duddy and Pat Campbell all went to watch their nephew John Duddy box in the Delacroix, and they just got the buzz and decided from there that they would start a club,” Cahir explained. “Paddy McLaughlin was from Buncrana and he boxed himself and won a few titles and Paddy Duddy had a history of boxing through his family.

“That’s where it spawned from and it’s just gone from strength to strength. The club started at Lenamore where they had their first premises before coming here to Galliagh.”

St. Joseph’s ABC has come a long, long way from a small portacabin with no heat or changing facilities back in the nineties, with their base in the heart of Galliagh now fully up to date and modernised.

The club’s premises have undergone a complete overhaul, but one which was necessary to ensure the future of the Galliagh club.

“There was always a lot of community involvement and community groups trying to do things with young people,” Kevin said. “The difficulty here was the lack of facilities. You get people in the door but the facilities weren’t great for them. We had a portacabin from the school and it was less than half the size of what we have now. The numbers were too much then for what we had.”

“I suppose it has brought us up to speed in terms of upgrading our club,” Liam added. “That other club we had, you could have pushed it down. You wouldn’t have got another year out of it or it would have fallen down completely. If we didn’t get that at that time, we wouldn’t be going any longer as a club.”

The change came after a sustained effort from several groups in the community to secure funds for a new build.

“We did have a community minister at that time who had a particular interest in boxing and that was Carol Carál Ní Chuilín and she probably recognised the benefits of boxing outside of people being successful in the ring” Kevin explained.

“A few clubs got significant amounts out of it and others got bits and pieces. Sandra (Duffy) was heavily involved in it, and they put the application through Sports NI, and we had support from the church and we gave it a push. There was one other club in Belfast that was ranked above us in terms of priority but we were second so we got a whole rebuild which was absolutely brilliant.”

 

Surviving Covid

The Covid-19 pandemic changed sport worldwide, from the highest level to grassroots, and St. Joseph’s was not immune, not only in terms of everyday participation, but also just getting back to normal when it was all over. Even the coaches found it difficult.

“After Covid, we just sat back and let the numbers come to us, instead of us letting people know we were open and after Christmas last year we started to get great numbers,” Liam said. The motivation to get back into it, even for ourselves, as coaches, being off for so long because obviously we had filled our time and space with something else as well.”

“Covid was a big thing for everybody and while our problems didn’t compare with people who had health issues, we had to change and adjust and comply with the restrictions and we had to close,” Kevin recalled.

“All sporting activities were stopped. As things moved on and started to open up a bit, we came back and managed the best we could. We were definitely hit by numbers, there was no doubt about that.

“Some of the boxers who were progressing, their development was affected, but that was the same right across the country.

“We’re seeing young boys coming back again now, but we probably missed a whole group around 11 and 12 of competing. But in general, young people are coming back to sport and getting involved in different things, and there are positives coming out of it because our numbers have never consistently been as big. Membership-wise were now pushing 100, but on any given night you would have 40-45 in training.”

There have been so many success stories at St. Joseph’s over the years, but undoubtedly the most recent one is Connor Coyle, who is 19-0 and ranked fourth in the world in the WBA rankings. Having someone at that level is an inspiration to everyone at the club, young and old.

“We’ve had numerous successful boxers,” Cahir stated. “Connor would probably be the one who is the most successful because he had a good amateur career and he is doing really well as a professional. He’s highly ranked in the WBA now, but he comes in here and he trains, just like he did when he was a wee boy. The wee boys all look up to him and he’s great around them as well. There’s no airs or graces with him and it’s good to have him about. The older boys look up to him, and then the younger boys look up to them. It’s just that knock on effect; they all need someone to look up to, to aspire to.”

“Throughout the years, this club has had success in the ring. It has had Irish champions, Irish internationals, and good clubmen who compete well,” Kevin continued. “They may not get the limelight in terms of championships win, but they lead by example and the people who are training look up to them because they are role models. It’s great to have that.

“For all of us, you just get that connection with the young fellas. You have a responsibility then and you get attached. As the young ones come in, you see them progress, be it Davy Moore, Ryan Tracey and Connor Coyle and the Carlin brothers. You get that connection with them and you’re taking them away to different championships so you just stuck at it.”

 

Connection

That connection with the youngsters at the club is ultimately the heart of what St. Joseph’s is about, with countless boys and girls from Galliagh and beyond learning important life skills at the club over the years, even if they didn’t pursue a career in the ring.

“You see a wee boy developing and you be afraid to miss them develop then,” Cahir agrees. “You get that attachment and you just want them to see them progressing and getting better.

“We’ve had some great young fellas in here over the years, great boys and some great characters too. Paddy ‘Yunkie’ Kerr was full of information and knowledge and always had a story he could tell you or teach you something. He is no longer with us but it was just brilliant having him here.”

There is no sign of any of the St. Joseph’s coaches slowing down however. As they all reflect on 30 years, it is clear that their fire burns as strongly as it ever did for a club that has done so much for Galliagh over three decades.

“Sometimes there’s not recognition of what boxing clubs do in their community,” Kevin said. “We operated in conditions that weren’t fit for purpose. There were leaks, there were drafts, there was no heat and we couldn’t accommodate females, so it was very difficult fir us to manage that. This has given us a building that is fit for purpose. There is a welcoming and clean environment and we have toilet and changing facilities now, but it is the work that has gone on between it that has been so important.

“For anyone in any sport giving up their time voluntarily, it’s really, really hard. I admire everybody involved in this club because you know how hard it is for people to give their time and be committed to it. The thing that keeps a lot of sport going are the people who do it, because of their passion and the relationships they are involved with and the commitment they have.

“We have a great team around us and we have people on the committee who have come through the club, who will carry this on. We know we have great local support in the community and we saw that last Friday when people came out to support our show. I think people value what we bring to the community, so onwards and upwards for the next 30 years.”

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