REMEMBERING MCNALLY
Patrick Myler pays tribute to the first Irish boxer to win an Olympic medal
JOHN MCNALLY, the first Irish boxer in history to win a medal at the Olympic Games medal, died in Belfast at the age of 89.
The stylish 19-year-old bantamweight returned home with a silver medal from Helsinki, Finland, in 1952, with many observers insisting it should have been gold.
Mcnally had won his three previous contests by unanimous decision to reach the final against the home country favourite Pentti Hämäläinen, but lost on a split decision. The British judge voted for Mcnally but the American and the Austrian officials gave it to the Finn.
“I couldn’t believe it when his hand was raised,” John would recall. “It was like a nightmare come true. I was devastated and in floods of tears because I was convinced I had won the gold medal.”
In a huge upset in the following year’s Irish championships, Mcnally was beaten in the final by Dubliner Andrew (Ando) Reddy. Sadly, Ando also died recently.
Compensation came to the Belfastman on being chosen to represent Europe at bantamweight in the US Golden Gloves international tournament in Chicago. He won his three contests and was presented with a token pair of Golden Gloves.
In that year’s European championships, held in Warsaw, Mcnally won a bronze medal. And he was made an honorary champion of Germany for beating three of that country’s former bantamweight champions in a space of 18 months.
In 1954, jobless and about to get married, Mcnally decided to try his luck as a professional. It was a decision he learned to regret.
Under the terms of his contract with joint managers Sammy Docherty and Jimmy Callaghan, he would receive a signing-on fee of £40 and a promise of at least £15 per fight for the first year.
“There are no friends in professional boxing and all the enjoyment you get as an amateur vanishes,” he told Barry Flynn in his book Legends of Irish Boxing. “In reality you become just another means to an end for others. I was boxing out of London and I never settled as a professional.”
Mcnally hung up his gloves in 1962 with a professional record of 14-9-2 and became a founder member of popular folk band The Freemen. Fans of the band had no idea the talented banjo player was also a legend of Irish sport.