Kildare's Jack Dempsey and Dan Donnelly feature in new book on Irish in sport

Clane native Jack Dempsey is among the sixty figures brought to life in the newly published Irish Sporting Lives.

A new collection of biographical essays drawn from the Dictionary of Irish Biography, Irish Sporting Lives spans 200 years of history and seeks to illustrate the drama and diversity of the Irish sporting experience. The book is edited by Dictionary of Irish Biography researchers Terry Clavin and Turlough O’Riordan, and it also includes an introductory essay by
Professor Paul Rouse of UCD.

Regarded as one of the best ‘pound-for-pound’ fighters in boxing history, Jack Dempsey (1862-95) emigrated to New York City with his family at the age of four. For most of his career he boxed bare-knuckle at a time when such fights were illegal in many states and several of his early contests were interrupted by the arrival of the police. He bridged the transition from London prize ring rules, involving either bare-knuckle fights or fights with skin-tight gloves, to Queensbury Rules, where fights were fought with padded gloves.

As a highly popular and clean-cut world middle-weight champion from 1884 to 1891, he lent force to efforts to legalise boxing fully. His skill and agility enabled him to rout much heavier opponents, earning him the nickname, ‘The Nonpareil’, meaning unequalled. He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

The volume also features the early 19th century bareknuckle fighter Dan Donnelly (1788-1820) who drew huge crowds to the Curragh for his famous victories over English opponents in 1814 and again in 1815. A memorial obelisk still stands in his memory at Donnelly’s Hollow in the Curragh. A mummified arm, said to have been severed from his corpse by graverobbers, was displayed for many years in the Hideout pub in Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. There is also long-time Kill resident Iris Kellett (1926-2011), who ran a riding school there after enjoying a stellar career as a showjumper.

The biographies in Irish Sporting Lives encompass serial winners and glorious losers, heroes and villains, role models and rogues, enduring legends and forgotten or overlooked greats.

The main disciplines—Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, athletics, horse racing and boxing—are well represented, but so too are minority sports such as croquet, cricket, tennis and hockey.

Irish Sporting Lives is published by the Royal Irish Academy and will be available to buy from 15 November.