Cork Ex-Boxers Association (CEBA) still going strong and doing great work 54 years after their formation

Fifty-four years ago on Tuesday, November 7th, 1972, the first official meeting of the Cork Ex-Boxers Association (CEBA) took place in Canty’s Bar on Pembrook Street in the city centre.

Originally, this association was set up by two former international boxers. 

Tim O'Sullivan, who boxed with the Cork News Boys Club on Lavitt's Quay and Paddy Martin, who boxed with the famed Glen Boxing Cub. 

The primary purpose of CEBA was to provide a little financial assistance to former boxers who had fallen on hard times and to encourage the promotion and development of the sport on Leeside. 

The initial meeting of this group was taking place during the early 70`s when boxing in Cork was at its lowest ebb. 

The major tournaments, the international events, the house full nights at the City Hall, and the halcyon magic days of a great period were now going out of focus and remaining only as treasured memories from a glorious past.

Over 30 retired boxers attended that first meeting. 

Paddy Martin had alerted his old Gaelic Football colleague at St Nick's Jack Lynch of the group’s intentions. 

Lynch, who was then Taoiseach wrote a very warm letter of sporting encouragement and extended his best wishes to all. 

Paddy Martin read the letter from the Taoiseach. 

Few could have imagined that night, that Paddy Martin was the father of the next Cork man to become Taoiseach 48 years later.

During that difficult period for the sport in Cork, a diminished County Boxing Board were working hard to stem the tide. 

Two army men, Victor Aston, president and Dan O'Connell, secretary, were facing a mammoth task. 

Many clubs, including the Glen and Sunnyside, had lost their training bases, other clubs folded naturally.

The only clubs left were Fr Horgan’s BC and Dean Sexton's BC and the army or Defence Forces ran a club in Collins Barracks.

This was a time of great uncertainty for the pugilists on Leeside and the only senior boxer in Cork was the legendary Harry Butt. 

Harry was one of the great characters of the sport.

He won the flyweight division in the very popular RTÉ weekly television series – Ringside. 

This national success brought Harry overnight fame and helped to attract many youngsters back into the sport. 

Harry sadly passed away last year, but he had in the presence of many members of his family a great honour bestowed on him when the Taoiseach Micheál Martin personally congratulated him after he was presented with a Golden Glove Award by Paddy McSweeney at the Cork Ex Boxers Golden Jubilee dinner held at the Rochestown Park Hotel in April 2022.

At that time of crisis in Cork boxing, the community games were being organised in the southern capital. 

This was a type of mini-Olympics and catered for many sports. 

Boxing also featured as part of the overall format of the games. 

Athletes represented their parish rather than their club. 

Out of nowhere many young boxers appeared to represent their parish and following the completion of the games, Dan O'Connell and Victor Aston saw the opening and encouraged many of the parishes to set up new clubs, and boxing in Cork was saved and began to flourish once again.

Today Dan O'Connell operates in a reverse role and was recently elected the president of the Cork Ex Boxers Association. 

For over half a century now, CEBA have made a great contribution through their endeavours to promote the sport both in the city and the county. Amongst their achievements was bringing Jack Doyle home from London where he died in 1978 and making provision to have him buried in his native Cobh. 

CEBA erected many plaques in Bishop Lucy Park over the years and hosted the first Cork Boxing breakfast in August 2012. 

A former president Willie O'Leary published a book on Cork boxing entitled Leeside Legends. 

The association also launched the Paddy `The Champ` Martin Cup and innovated the Jack McAuliffe gold medals which are presented to Cork boxers, who win an All-Ireland title. 

The group also introduced the Victor Aston Cup for the Cork Club of the Year and the Mannix Shield for the top club at the county boxing championships, in addition to sponsoring the Tim O'Sullivan Cup and the Maurice Walsh Cup for the best male and female boxers at these championships.

CEBA have presented many plaques to clubs throughout the city and county, organised exhibitions in various libraries, provided guard of honours at funerals and all this work was acknowledged by former president Micael D Higgins when he invited many of the members of CEBA along with Gary Spike O'Sullivan to Áras an Uachtaráin in 2013.

Today, boxing is blooming in Cork.

The Cork County Boxing Board and CEBA have a very good working relationship for the betterment of the sport. 

Dan O'Connell has an excellent sporting CV with many organisations. 

Today, he has a blueprint to take CEBA onto a much higher plain. He is still briming with many innovative ideas. 

He benefits from the mature status of now being a boxing elder and his energy and enthusiasm for the sport remains undiminished. 

Fifty-Four years later Dan O'Connell is a man on a mission once again.