DOG ASIDE:
Finbar Patrick ‘Barry’ McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish retired professional boxer and current boxing promoter. Born in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed The Clones Cyclone and became the WBA and lineal featherweight world champion. He was very popular with Irish and British audiences, representing neutrality and peace in a time when Ireland, where he lived, was affected by The Troubles….which was an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century….which was known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as a “guerrilla war” or a “low-level war”….as the conflict began in the late 1960’s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998….and although The Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland….at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe….and Barry McGuigan’s affect on moving this conflict towards resolve unification during his time as a world class boxer is why sports casting legend Jim McKay provides this elegant and eloquent description of his affect on the nation of Ireland is truly a “nugget of gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories.
In 2005 Barry McGuigan was inducted into the international boxing hall of fame. He founded, and is the current president of, the Professional Boxing Association (PBA)….along with being the founder and CEO of Cyclone Promotions, managing boxers including Scotland’s Josh Taylor.
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