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Craigmore Amateur Boxing Club based at Abbey Yard in Newry is going from strength to strength, since its move from Bessbrook a year ago, with up to 40 children attending a variety of classes each night.
The not for profit organisation is run for the benefit of the community and is headed by Sean Murtagh, Simon Bannister and Neil Cunningham.
Success
Explaining the club's successes Sean said "We moved from Bessbrook into this facility here, a facility that we could properly crack on with our child protection implementation. That's top of the agenda for us and something that we take very, very serious. Since we moved in here, last March, we have achieved a total of nine titles. We've won three gold and a silver at the Louth championships in November and we won four gold and a silver at the Armagh Down championships in January."
Simon explained "This is all totally non-profit voluntary work from the ground up. We are registered as a CIC and all the money that we're lucky enough to gather up goes back into renewing the equipment, keeping the electric on. It costs us over £500 a month just to keep the kids in here. All the money is to keep the doors open and everything else after that is greatly appreciated." He adds that if anyone would like to come on board as a sponsor they would be most appreciated.
Starting out a year ago in their new Newry premises was a challenge. Sean explained "There wasn't paint on the walls, there wasn't a carpet on the floor there there wasn't bags on the walls, nothing, just a bare shell. We didn't know if we had it in us to do it and now 12 months later we have a completely finished gym, champions on the wall, a complete U-turn, a complete transformation. Our membership has nearly tripled in size since we came over here. It has been such a homegrown thing to build this little grassroots club and now to see it prosper in the way it is, It's amazing to see. It's such a big stride for anybody to start a new business or a new club like we have in the last 12 months, to show that we can do it and generate champions."
Diverse
Simon believes their boxing club is the most diverse around with children from all over the world involved "We have kids from China, Poland, Africa, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey, members of the Traveling Community. We've members from both sides of the divide Catholics and Protestants that come here and train under the same roof and you will not hear a curse or a swear word on this floor. It's unbelievable. it's an inspiration. I think we're the most diverse boxing club in Newry at the moment."
Boxing in their blood
The three men are steeped in boxing themselves. Simon remembers his first boxing coach Paddy McKeown on the Windmill Road. He also boxed under coach Tony Patterson who opened up a club at St Mary's. Roll the clock forward to the next generation and his son is now part of Craigmore and he's a triple county champion. Sean got into boxing from about 14 boxing for the All Blacks in Annalong while Neil started boxing in St. John Bosco under Adrian Patterson.
Simon reiterates the local connection. "My primary school is just behind us. Sean's kids grew up less than a mile and a half from here, Neil went to the same primary school. Our first two Boxing Clubs were St. Mary's and St Pats. Everything here is very, very central and it's the community that we were brought up in and it's very, very important to us now that we're able to give back through boxing. It's massive."
Classes
There are a broad range of classes at Craigmore ABC, Monday, Wednesday and Friday sees the fundamental under 11's class (from age 7 to 11) from 6 till 6.50pm. Then they have their 11 to 17 year old competition class from 7 to 8.15pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Their senior program is from 7 to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they open up the gym on Saturdays for kids that take part in special development training and one on one and competition preparation. Craigmore have also started training on their first adult programme.
Simon concludes "We've done everything that has been asked of us as a boxing club and health coaches, right from child protection, right from our own training as boxing coaches with IBA, providing our kids with a safe bright atmosphere somewhere inclusive that they can come and be themselves and learn boxing stress free and crack-on to be champions or not. Or just be boxers and have a bit of crack. "
Contact
If you are interested in getting your children or yourself involved they would love to hear from you either via their Facebook or Instagram pages or just call in to Unit 11 Abbey Yard for a face to face chat. You can also call them on 078 4054 4275 or email solidsid84@gmail.com
