Derry Rovers and Edenderry GAA can both be very proud of the Easter Rising event which took place in Edenderry GAA on Saturday night last. Tickets for the event which were capped at 1,200 were sold out by Thursday evening and this lead to a major scramble for tickets as the frenzy around the biggest night in Edenderry grew.
On the night the Grounds of Edenderry GAA were transformed into an event centre with a large marquee taking up much of the car park in front of the clubhouse. Inside the marquee was where the action took place with the ring at one end and a large screen at the other relaying live footage of each bout.
The GAA Clubhouse was also transformed into an exquisite VIP area for a sponsor’s reception prior to the boxing and then opened to the general public for the remainder of the evening. The floor was carpeted, walls lined with shimmering white drapes, uplighters threw off purple lighting and the tables were decorated with beautiful centre pieces. A large screen dominated one end of the main hall and again this showed live footage from the ring.
With everything in place it was down to business although there was a brief panic when power was lost in the marquee however it was quickly restored and the MC for the evening Marty Morrissey entered the ring to welcome the packed crowd. Marty invited Colm Cummins, Chairman of Edenderry GAA to the ring to say a few words. Colm welcomed everyone to the club and stated he was delighted that the two clubs had worked so well together over the previous months in preparing for the night. He thanked all the boxers who had given their time, effort and blood in many cases to train for the bouts and wished everyone of them well.
Proceedings got under way with a colour party led by a piper & George Morrissey carrying the National Flag entered the ring. All then stood to attention for the National Anthem. The boxers for the first fight of the night were then announced and entered the ring.
Fight 1
John “The Assassin” Mason (Edenderry GAA) v Vinny “Lights Out” Mooney (Derry Rovers)
This was an excellent opening bout of the evening and ended in a majority decision in favour of the Edenderry GAA man Mason so they took any early lead 1-0.
Fight 2
Stephen “Southpaw” Murphy (Edenderry GAA) v Darren “The Destroyer” O’Reilly (Derry Rovers)
This decision was given in favour of O’Reilly for Derry Rovers although many of the audience disagreed however both boxers gave an excellent account of themselves and can be extremely proud. Score now 1-1.
Fight 3
Michael “Flour Bag” Ennis (Edenderry GAA) v Gordan “The Guns” Kerrigan (Derry Rovers)
An even enough contest with many big punches however Kerrigan stood out and won in the eyes of all three judges. Score 2-1 Derry Rovers
Fight 4
Sean “Money Maker” Moriarty (Edenderry GAA) v Johnny “ The Pitbull” Jones (Derry Rovers)
The Pitbull certainly lived up to his name and edged this one to leave the score at 3-1 to Derry Rovers.
Fight 5
Ross “The Chest” Mangan(Edenderry GAA) v Tucker “The Trucker” Denehan (Derry Rovers)
One of the fights of the night as Mangan regained some ground for Edenderry GAA to leave the scores at 3-2 to Derry Rovers.
Fight 6
James “Killer” Coffey (Edenderry GAA) v Johnny “Thunder” Dunne (Derry Rovers)
Coffey entered the ring in the famous colours of Rhode GAA but quickly changed to the Red to fight and he did the business to take the decision and leave the sides tied at 3-3.
Fight 7
Colm “Babyface Assassin” Byrne(Edenderry GAA) v Keith “Tricky” Hickey (Derry Rovers)
Another contender for fight of the night and one that had everyone guessing which way the judges would go. In the end the result was announced as another win for the Red corner and a 4-3 lead to Edenderry GAA.
Fight 8
Joe “Machine Gun” Murphy v Paddy “The Clubber” Clarke (Derry Rovers)
This one went the way of the blue corner and to Paddy Clarke so the scores were tied yet again at 4-4.
Fight 9
Gary “G-Star” Blong (Edenderry GAA) v Jason “The Sensation” Mooney (Derry Rovers)
Blong showed all his Star quality to take this bout on a majority decision and restored Edenderry GAA’s lead to 5-4.
Fight 10
Aaron “Cruiser” O’Connell (Edenderry GAA) v Emlyn “ Dandy Dynamite” Donoghue (Derry Rovers)
O’Connell won this one but not cruising as Donoghue showed at times he could live up to his dynamite nickname. Edenderry GAA now lead by 6-4.
Fight 11
Ozzie “The Bone Crusher” Cummins (Edenderry GAA) v Lukasz “Rusek” Rusinkowski (Derry Rovers)
This fight deserved top billing as from the moment the fighters entered the arena the volume of the crowd increased to dangerous levels. Ozzie entered to chants of his name and when Lukasz, a Pole entered with his native Red & White flag the crowd roared approval. Everyone got into the spirit of this fight and both fighters were encouraged from the first bell. They certainly gave it everything they had and stood toe to toe for much of the three rounds. At the end as both boxers embraced the crowd stood to applaud what had been a marvellous bout. The decision went to the man in Red and Edenderry GAA increased its lead to 7-4.
Fight 12
Podge “Hotstepper” Hanlon (Edenderry GAA) v Dean “Mean Machine” Cummins (Derry Rovers)
This bout was filled with good punching from start to finish and in the end Cummins just edged Hanlon to give Derry Rovers a victory and cut the GAA lead to 7-5.
Fight 13
Johnny “BigBang” Blong (Edenderry GAA) v Michael “The Killer” Foran (Derry Rovers)
This one was another toe to toe affair and neither fighter backed away but in the end the decision went to Foran and so the lead was down to 1 with Edenderry GAA needing just one more victory for overall success.
Fight 14
Colin “The Machine” McNamara (Edenderry GAA) v Gavin “The Trasher” Hoey (Derry Rovers)
A right good battle between these two big men and the decision could have gone either way but in the end to the approval of half the crowd Hoey got the nod and tied up the score at 7-7.
Fight 15
Peter “The Monster” Manley (Edenderry GAA) v Kenny “The Gander” Dunne (Derry Rovers)
The Monster was first into the ring and raised the decibel levels when he ripped open his shirt while standing at the top of the ropes. Gander entered the ring focused and with the steel in his eyes he set about upsetting his opponent in Red. Neither boxer backed away as blows were traded with such ferocity that grown men in the audience winced. Both were bloodied by the end of Round 1 but neither man was going to throw in the towel with the pride of their club on the line. A terrific contest from start to finish and one which could easily have been called a draw.
The crowd waited with baited breath for a decision from the judges and when Marty Morrissey announced the winner in the Blue corner was Kenny “The Gander” Dunne, Derry Rovers rejoiced. Edenderry GAA supporters graciously applauded the winner and their defeated boxer.
As the cup was presented to Pat McBride, Chairman of Derry Rovers, he spoke of the immense pride that was felt by both clubs in putting such an event in place. He thanked Edenderry GAA for their welcome to all Derry Rovers members and looked forward to working with the club again in the future.
Derry Rovers & Edenderry GAA wish to thank a number of people for their assistance in organising this event as follows:
All 30 boxers
St Brigids Boxing Club
St Josephs Boxing Club
Referees, Morley Brereton, Star Cummins & Jim Murrin
All our judges on the night
St Mary’s Secondary School & caretaker John Kelly
Damian O’Donoghue
Our Main Sponsor of Easter Rising
Eden Claims
All our Fight Sponsors:
OMD Waste Removals, Allen removals & Storage, Paul Kearney haulage, Nationwide Tiles, Hire Station, Kearney Fabrication, Rosderra Meats, Eurospar, Donnelly Fruit & Veg, Sweeneys Spar Express, The Oakwood Inn, Martin mason Design, Eden Events, Emerald Pitch Developments, Colm Cummins, Padraig Foy & Wayne Mooney.
Our Corporate Sponsors:
Supermacs, Martin Hanbury, Brady’s Spar, Edenderry Credit Union, Tons of Fun, Elegant Woodcraft, The Medical Hall, Walsh Transport, Olympian Fitness, Dempsey Butchers, Paddy Power Bookmaker, Eden Fuel Yard, head to Toe Hair & Beauty, AF Construction, CG Panels, Eden Insulation, Pauric Tyrrell Cab & Mini Bus Hire, Dermot Hall Menswear, John Furey Supermarkets.
On behalf of both clubs we also wish to apologise to all who attended the event but particularly the females who experienced delays and poor conditions in the toilets. We have learnt many lessons from running the event and we will certainly put them to good use in the future.
