New book celebrates Inishowen’s Boxing Quinns and the ‘Knock-out Kings of Ireland’

A new book, ‘The Boxing Quinns’, recalls the ring exploits of one of Inishowen’s greatest boxing family dynasties of the last century.

The book has been written by Seán E. Quinn, a native of Clonglash, Buncrana, and who for many years lectured in law at what is now the Letterkenny campus of the Atlantic Technological University.

‘The Boxing Quinns’ details the boxing careers of Seán’s father Joe Quinn and his uncles, Jimmy Quinn and Sonny Quinn, during the postwar years 1945 to 1955, an era during which fights mostly took place at Belfast’s Ulster Hall and the Guildhall, Derry.

The brothers started their lives in Carndonagh and moved to Buncrana in the early 1940s, when their father, John Quinn, was appointed station foreman with the Lough Swilly Railway in Buncrana.

All three brothers were members of the Local Defence Forces during the Second World War, and their first boxing bouts were organised by the Inishowen Local Defence Forces.

On Tuesday, 27th February 1945, in the Colgan Hall, Carndonagh, Joe and Jimmy both won their first fights. In a subsequent tournament on Tuesday, 12th June 1945, also in Carndonagh, Sonny won his first fight too.

The Donegal Amateur Boxing Championships were held on Sunday, 5th September 1950, in what is now St. Conal's Hospital, Letterkenny.

Both Jimmy and Sonny won in the semi-final but they decided not to fight one another in the final and tossed a coin instead. Jimmy won the toss and became Donegal Champion in addition to already being All-Ireland Army, FCA, and Western Command Champion.

Joe Quinn (pictured below) was a member of the City of Derry Boxing Club and trained with Jimmy Spider Kelly. On Wednesday, 5th June 1946, in the Guildhall, Derry, Joe fought his first fight as a professional welterweight boxer and won by a knockout in the first round. Joe subsequently fought as a middleweight.

On Saturday, 6th October 1951, Jimmy and Sonny had their first fights as professional middleweight boxers in the Guidhall, Derry. Jimmy won his fight by a knockout in the first round; and Sonny won by a knockout in the second round.

In a newspaper report in the early 1950s, the brothers were referred to as the ‘Knock-out Kings of Ireland’; other reports of the time would seem to bear out their hitting powers.

READ NEXT: Double funeral for devoted Buncrana couple of 63 years

A reference to Joe was that “Quinn packed explosive in right swings”; a reference to Jimmy: “Suddenly Quinn caught him with a vicious right to the side of the head. Before he could recover, another right and a left had sent him sprawling to the floor.”

A further reference to Sonny was “he moved into the attack, kept it up almost incessantly, … (his opponent) seemed unable to mount much of an attack after he had learned to respect Quinn’s hitting powers.”

Joe settled in Santry, Dublin and was involved in other sporting activities after his boxing career. In 1959 Joe was Irish Steel Strandpulling Champion. Jimmy worked for many years in McColgan’s Hardware in Buncrana, while Sonny was a lorry driver with the Lough Swilly Transport Company.

Jimmy’s sons, John, Patrick, and Martin, were to follow their father's footsteps in boxing.

The Boxing Quinns, which also includes some family history, is a quality 200-page hardback of 45,000 words, and it’s available now for €25. Contact Seán at: QuinnGathering@gmail.com