Tomás MacCurtain Boxing Museum is attracting visitors and gifts from all over the world

CORK Boxing extends congratulations to Ireland's ten boxers who have qualified for the forthcoming Olympic games in Paris. 

Ireland has won 35 Olympic medals in all sports at the games since 1924 with boxing being our most successful sport, winning 18 medals. 

On the first day of January this year the Glen BC flew the Olympic flag to acknowledge the success of Ireland's Olympic boxers over the last 100 years.

Since the official opening of The Tomás MacCurtain Boxing Museum on 20th April last, patrons have flocked in their droves to view the memorabilia exhibition.

To date, all visitors to the Glen BC where the museum has been assembled have been loud in their praise for such a worthwhile amenity, which helps to record a major part of Cork’s long and proud boxing story.

The Glen Boxing Club is the mothership of Irish amateur boxing and rejoices on being Ireland’s oldest club, established in 1916. 

The club is now preparing to put the museum on the Irish Tourist Trail. 

To date, many Americans who have been staying in City centre hotels, have been to the museum and expressed their delight, as they tracked and trailed through the various pictures, stories and artifax on display.

An official visitors book is currently being compiled and all future visitors to the museum will be provided with an opportunity to sign the book. The honour of being the first signatory in the book will appropriately be afforded to the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy. 

The Lord Mayor, along with the Tánaiste Micheál Martin, officiated at the opening. 

Allied to the museum, being named after the first President of the Glen BC, Tomas MacCurtain was also Lord Mayor of Cork at the time of his sad and premature death.

A souvenir booklet outlining the life and times of MacCurtain will be available to all museum visitors from the 1st July next.

Amongst the exhibits on display is a billboard going back to 1924. 

On 21st December that year a major tournament took place in Doneraile. 

One of the boxers competing that night was Pa Buckley, the trailblazer of the Buckley boxing clan. 

The Buckleys of Mallow are an inherent part of the Leeside boxing story. 

Many generations of this family were household boxing names, many of this family’s cups and trophies are now display.

This year marks the centenary of that Doneraile tournament. 

Cork County Board President Michael O’Brien has confirmed that a senior boxing tournament will take place in December. 

The Buckley family are sponsoring the Buckley Cup for the special occasion. 

All boxers who compete on the night will receive a Doneraile Centenary Medal, to acknowledge the Buckley's phenomenal contribution to the sport, the back of the specially commissioned medals will have an inscription of the Buckley family coat of arms. 

Tickets for this prestigious tournament will be sold in advance with further details announced in September.

The format of the museum will change from time. 

In recent weeks, the Glen BC has been inundated with families contacting the club with offers to donate for display, many of their cherished boxing pieces.

Last week, Zaur Antia, donated his Tokyo Olympic tracksuit where Kellie Harrington won the Olympic gold medal. 

Antia, Ireland’s most successful boxing coach in history did this, as he said: “The Cork County Board were the first in the country to acknowledge me, and I am delighted to give them this gift for the museum."

Another recent arrival for display came from the Olympic Club in San Francisco. 

In recent years, the Cork County Board, in conjunction with Cork City Council, have participated in international boxing tournaments on the west coast. 

The Olympic Club Hotel , which is also one of the most magnificent hotels in the world were delighted to provide a boxing emblem suitable to the surrounds of the museum. 

One of the great treasured possessions of American Amateur Boxing is the Golden Glove, and they have presented a replica of this to the museum.

Meanwhile, Bill Stacey, that great old Dubliner, and long-time friend of Cork boxing has also added to the historic collection. 

Bill provided the museum with an Irish international framed singlet from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. 

This has been autographed by silver medallist Kenny Egan and bronze medallist's Paddy Barnes, and Darren Sutherland. 

This was Ireland’s best Olympic games since 1956.

Sunnyside Boxing Club was founded in 1927. 

In their early years, the club enjoyed success at Cork and Munster Championships. 

However, the club did not record their first senior national championship title until the 1946/47 season when Tommy Hyde won the coveted title. In the 1930’s and 40’s the club produced many outstanding boxers with many of their cups and county medals now donated to Cork’s history collection. 

Munster champions Johnny Driscoll from Blarney Street, Mick Barry, who went on to become Ireland’s famous road bowler, and Billy Foley, the classy bantamweight, who emigrated to the United States, all now have their trophies on display.