Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BARNES BOXING CLEVER ON HEALTH
Fighter backs inmates course
OLYMPIAN Paddy Barnes is going to jail – to teach young offenders the benefits of boxing and healthy living.
Barnes has thrown his weight behind a new six-week programme at Hydebank Wood College in South Belfast.
The double Olympian will join Irish women’s boxing star Carly Mcnaul and European champion Marc Mccullough in delivering the course.
Paddy, 32, who won bronze at the Beijing and London Games and two
Commonwealth golds, said: “I have had a few friends in Magherberry and Magilligan. Boxing has kept me on the straight and narrow.
“It’s my life and has helped me greatly and made me the person I am today.
“I’ve made friends all around the world through boxing. Without it God knows where I would have ended up. I would probably have been in here.”
The non-contact programme will be hosted by the Ulster Boxing Council and Irish Athletic Boxing Association in partnership with the Prison Service. Structured workouts will include pad-work, stance, footwork, and other boxing techniques, with l advice on diet and nutrition, mindfulness and mental health.
Director of Prisons Austin Treacy, said: “In addition to building physical strength, boxing can help to make you feel more powerful mentally and give you the fighting spirit to deal with any of life’s more challenging situations.
“Boxing can also instil achievement, confidence and self-esteem.” Ulster,
Ireland and Commonwealth champion Carly revealed how boxing helped her deal with anger management issues.
She said: “A boxing club gave me a place to go to get away from bad choices and the wrong crowds. Now, I’m hoping to go to the Olympic Games.”
Charlie Toland, of the Ulster Boxing Council, added: “If we can be a channel where young people walk through and not want to offend or take drugs, then this is what we hope to achieve.”