Boxing Brothers .DRIMNAGH BOXING CLUB.1970s/80s/90s..

Back in 1970 Ger was a member of The Drimnagh Boxing club for awhile when Bem
decided to give it a try.Ger had joined with a classmate of his ,Phil Sutcliffe.
Joe Bean and Paddy Oglesby  were the Trainers,with Joe training the younger lads and
Paddy training the Seniors.
The Gym was located on Keeper road .
It was called The Frank Kerr Memorial Hall.
Frank was a Coach in Drimnagh Boxing club in the 60s and was a well known boxer who had won many titles.

He coached his son Brian in the Boxing club who would later become Manager of the Irish soccer team.
The training was rigorous and Bem ,Ger ,Phil and the other juniors
would train 2 or 3 times a week.
Shadow Boxing,Skipping, pounding the Punchbag,Speed/Ball,Sparring in the Ring,
Floor exercises and a 2 mile run were all part of the training sessions.
On Bem's first night ,Ger picked up a giant leather ball and called "Catch,Bem ",
Bem turned around and the ball bounced against Bem as he fell to the floor.
He had been introduced to ,"The Medicine Ball".
The lads had a good laugh as all new lads got "The Medicine Ball Introduction".
The Medicine Ball was used to strengthen body muscles.
After been a member for a couple of months Bem was lined up for his first fight
in a Tournament that Drimnagh B.C. were running with clubs from around the City.
Ger and Phil had already got a couple of bouts under their belt.
Bem went down for the weigh-in, He weighted in at 7 stone.
Phil was lighter and Ger was about a stone heavier than Bem but a year younger
at 11 year old.
Bem was matched against a guy from the Phoenix Boxing Club.(The Phoenix Boxing Club
was located in Parkgate st ,and their gym was above a barber,s shop.)
Ger was matched against a guy from Terenure ,whom he had beaten before.
Bem,s nerves were gone before the fight.
A good crowd had gathered in the Club.
"Bem,Let,s get your wraps and gloves on ,your fight is coming up soon",said Joe to Bem.
Back then head gear was only used in sparring sessions.
Gum shields were not commonly used either.
"Take deep breaths",said Joe to Bem after he got him ready for the fight`.
Bem comes out of the dressing room for his fight and walks to the ringside.
His body was shaking with his nerves.
He climbs over the bottom rope and into the ring.
He looks over to the other corner and can't believe it.
His opponent was the guy from Terenure who was supposed to be Ger's opponent.
"Don't worry ,It will be alright ",says Joe.
"Centre of the ring ,Boys",says the Ref.
"When I say break ,yous break,Okay lads ?",says the Ref.
They both nod as They eyeball each other.
"Right, touch gloves ",says the Ref.
They go back to their respective corners.
"Ding,Ding",the bell sounds as the fight starts.
The other guy comes out swinging.
Bem just jabs and moves as Joe had told him.
Round 1 is over and it is even enough.
Second round and Bem just shades by keeping on the move and jabbing
as any time the other guy got close he tried to use his weight advantage against Bem.
"Right,Bem ,I need you to give everything in this last round as its still too close to call",
says Joe.
The fight is over after 3 tight rounds and Bem gets the decision.
He feels great.
Ger was up next against the guy from Phoenix and loses on points .
The guy was a couple of years older than Ger and much more experienced.
Joe later told Bem that they had switched opponents as it would have been unfair to
put Bem in with the guy in his first fight.
Bem ,Ger,Phil and a couple of other guys were entered into the Dublin Boxing Leagues the following year.
Five of them made it to the finals that year.
Bem got to fight in the National Stadium's main ring.
He was so excited.
After the first round the Ref(Well known Charlie Higgins) came over to both corners and told both boxers to start throwing punches
as they had both been shadow-boxing for the first round as the nerves had got the better of them.


After the second round he came over again and told them he would disqualify them both if they
did not box more.
Round 3 was a big improvement but unfortunately Bem lost on a majority decision.
Ger got to fight his final in the Ringside club but unfortunately lost against an older guy(because Ger was big for his age he often fought guys older than him.)
The Ref for his fight was none other than well known Lugs Brannigan.
Bem and Ger would fight for a couple more years but Phil Sutcliffe would go on to win numerous titles including Irish senior titles ,European Bronze medal,International bouts around the world and the Olympics where he lost to a Mexican fighter who would go on to be a World Professional  Champion.
When Bem and Ger were still in the Club,The great amateur fighter Mick Dowling who had already won Irish Senior Titles joined Drimnagh Boxing Club ,with who he would win more Titles.
Mick won 8 Irish Senior Titles in Total .
All the lads were excited.
The highlight was during one training session Mick allowed a few of the Lads,including Bem,
to spar a round each with him. The guy was so fast it was hard to lay a jab on him.
Another highlight for Bem and Ger was one evening in came came the famous Christle boxing
brothers,Mel ,Joe and Terry who would all become Irish Senior Champions (Terry would also be
the French Senior Champ),with their father and uncle .
The boys were looking to do a training session as their club had been burned down
and they used to travel around different clubs .
Ger and Bem were picked to spar with a brother each.....Bem with the youngest brother Joe and Ger
with Terry.
The Christles were good boxers so for Bem and Ger it was a great experience.
There were a few groups of Brothers who boxed in The Drimnagh Boxing Club.
One group of Brothers in the 70s and 80s were the Ruth Brothers,,,,,George ,Christy and the
youngest Paddy.
George and Christy were Irish Senior Champions while Paddy twice made it to the Senior finals
where he lost on both occasions to future World Professional Champions,Sam Storey and Ray
Close.
Phil Sutcliffe's younger brother ,Derek Sutcliffe was also a Irish Senior Champion.
A Great Achievement  was yet to come as  Paul Griffin (Winner of 4 Irish Senior Titles at Featherweight) ,won the Gold medal in Gothenburg in 1991 at the  European Championships.
He also won the Bronze medal at the next European Championships.
Then The Biggest Achievement was by Michael Carruth who in 1992 in the Barcelona
Olympics won the Gold medal at Welterweight and won against a Cuban,Juan Hernandez, in the final.

Michael had also won a Bronze medal in the World Senior Championships in 1989.
Michael's father,Austin was a Coach in the Club and was always in Michael's corner when he fought.
Michael is one of Triplet Brothers , Martin and William being the other 2 .
They also boxed as well.
Michael is himself a Coach along with his Brothers in Drimnagh Boxing Club.
In 2015 Drimnagh Boxing Club will celebrate its 50 th Anniversary.