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Sports | INTERVIEW


(Photo of Bernard Dunne)

“But with a bit of belief and a bit of hard work, anything is achievable. I think people took an awful lot of encouragement from that and defi nitely were uplifted by it”

Dunne has fond memories of his time as a student at the College, including one memorable boxing bout in the historic Colours for TCD.

“I was in the Colours. There was a guy from Cork who went in the ring with me. It was a bit unfair. I think he had about five fights where I think I had 105! I kind of just played around with him.

I really enjoyed my time at Trinity. I worked in the Anatomy Department with Professor O'Brien. It was fantastic, I still keep in touch with some of the people from there, people I boxed with and so on. College is fantastic but I got the offer to go to America and I took it.”

Dunne's high profi le success has dovetailed with a general upswing in the fortunes of Irish boxing, with a promising crop of young professionals and an abundance of world class talent in the amateur vest.

“We have got great talent in this country and that's the way it is. It's always been like that but now we're starting to get exposure, the likes of Katie Taylor, a lot of the juniors, John Duddy, Andy Lee, Paul McCloskey... For me, it's just great to be a part of that. There is such a talented array of boxers there. There really is. It's incredible,” agrees Dunne.

“I just don't like to see them jumping into the pros too early. It's hard enough to make a few quid at the pro game and they need to bide their time and not be in a rush... I suppose they see the likes of the pro’s on TV and say they want to be a part of it, but it's not all glitz and glamour. It is hard to get there. I loved the amateurs. They are great, I would encourage every parent to let their children go into it because it teaches them, not just how to look after themselves, but self-respect, how to work for others and work for a team as well as defend themselves and look after their bodies. Most of all it teaches respect.”

Right now, Dunne is hurting. A proud Dubliner, he feels he has let his family, friends and thousands of followers down following his recent defeat. But when the curtain fi nally falls, Dunne can look back on a glittering and successful career that captured the imagination of a nation and brought boxing back to the summit of Irish sporting life. After all, how many Irishmen can claim ‘world champion’ status?

”I would encourage every parent to let their children go into it [boxing] because it teaches them, not just how to look after themselves, but self-respect how to work for others and work for a team as well as defend themselves and look after their bodies. Most of all, it teaches respect”


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