‘Extra special’: How Raphoe BC duo triumphed in face of tragedy

In mid-July, Gary McCullagh pinged off a WhatsApp message to a handful of young boxers in the Raphoe Boxing Club.

With the Ulster Senior and the National Senior Championships on the horizon, McCullagh, the club’s head coach, wanted to up the ante.

As well as the thrice weekly boxing sessions, McCullagh was keen to put his protégées under the watch of strength and conditioning coach Sean Foley. McCullagh and Foley have worked closely with Donegal’s former world middleweight title challenger Jason Quigley.

At the weekend, the arms of Danny Duffy and Cathal McLaughlin were raised at the National Stadium. The Irish Senior - the former Intermediate Championships - bantamweight and middleweight titles were returned to Raphoe Boxing Club.

They were victories tinged with the sweet scent of hard graft paying its dividends, but each was a victory claimed against a tragic backdrop.

Middleweight McLaughlin had already beaten Ola Wahab (Midleton) and Peter Convery (St John’s, Derry) to book a semi-final spot when he learned last Wednesday of the death of his uncle Barry Langan in Strabane. The funeral was to be held in St Mary’s Church, Melmount on Saturday morning - at around the same time as the middleweight final.

“We were very close,” McLaughlin told Donegal Live. “I didn’t know what to do. I was thinking of pulling out. I just said to myself then: ‘What would he want me to do?’ He was always talking to me about the boxing. I hope I did him proud. It’s worth it now. It means the world to me to win.”

McLaughlin defeated Mulhuddart’s Richard O’Leary in a 75kgs semi-final on Friday night. While his dear uncle was being laid to his eternal rest the following morning, McLaughlin was lining up against TJ King inside the old venue on Dublin’s South Circular Road.

TJ King, the Ballyboughal man who is the Irish U22 champion and had won the Celtic Box Cup in September, stood opposite. McLaughlin, though, upset the odds in style, claiming victory on a 4-1 split decision.

McLaughlin said: “I was probably a 200/1 underdog. Even people in the club were saying to just get a split decision in a loss to make it look good.

“I got better with each fight, I think. I had four hard fights and they were all good boys. When I saw all the names at the start, I knew a few of them had beaten me before. The hard work definitely paid off.”

Just six months ago, Duffy lost his mother and two other members of his family in a horror crash, but he has returned to boxing in memorable fashion, winning Donegal, Ulster and now Irish titles.

On April 27, Danny’s mother, Christine McKane, her brother Dan McKane and their aunt Julia McSorley were killed in a road traffic accident near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.

The three, all natives of Strabane, were traveling from from a family funeral in England when the minibus in which they were traveling collided with a lorry.

The 22-year-old Duffy returned to boxing in Raphoe with his head spinning from the shock of it all. He’s followed up with a clean sweep since - grabbing the bantamweight crown on Friday night when beating Oisin Worsencroft from St Colman’s. A clash of heads in the second round saw the bout halted. When the sums were totted from the judges at the time of the stoppage, Duffy was well ahead and, officially, claimed a unanimous decision verdict.

“For me to get it this year was extra special,” Duffy said. “I’ve had big motivation this year. I had massive support from my friends and family. They were all up. They were in tears as soon as I won. There was a lot of pressure involved, but I handled it rightly and got the job done.

“I was well in front after the first round. I was confident through the fight. I felt comfortable in there. The clash of heads happened - it was a bad enough clash. The ref’ had to call it off.”

Both McLaughlin and Duffy answered the call in July.

Something in McCullagh’s message stirred them into action. Under the watch of McCullagh and Gerard Keaveney in Raphoe, the fine details were worked on while Foley’s programme began to work its magic in the background.

“I was overweight after Covid and was out of shape,” Duffy, who previously lost three finals at Boy 3, Boy 4 and Youth levels when at Immaculata BC in Strabane, says. “I had to lose a good bit of weight. This year is me only really coming back. This was the year to get into shape and get back at it properly.

“We’re at it six or seven days a week now. I’m walking around now and just know I’m in good shape again. I felt confident with that. I was doing something every day, from road running to the gym to the boxing.”

McLaughlin first wandered through Raphoe BC’s doors at the age of 18. His time spent has rarely been as consistent as now. The preliminary round win over Wahab was his first time to box at the National Stadium.

“I was half in and half out, not really taking it seriously,” he said. "I always heard people saying about getting rewards if you put the work in. I never used to take that on. A few of the boys I beat might be better than me skill wise, but the conditioning work I’d done recently made a difference.

“This was my first time ever to fight in the stadium. That’s always been a dream of mine.”

At the Ulster Seniors, McLaughlin was beaten by James Maguinnes from Down in an open middleweight semi. Defeat stung.

McLaughlin, who has been nursing an injury to his right paw over recent weeks, said: “I didn’t do enough. It was probably the best thing ever happened because I was so sore about losing.

“Gary invited a few of us into the group chat and said about this 12-week programme. It was basically something we had to do to fight at seniors.

“We stuck to it. We had weights, doing our conditioning, road work and diet. It was about getting everything right outside of the ring. There was something every day and there were barely any rest days.”

Duffy snatched the Ulster title at the Crumlin Star Sports and Social Club in Belfast. He took the 54kgs title in the open category, beating James Stevenson from Bangor Abbey. Duffy, roared on by a huge support, was busy for the duration of the three rounds. Stevenson was no mug either, having competed in the Ulster Elites last year, losing out to Clemson Dos Santos.

He followed it up on a bigger stage still on Friday night.

“I’d never felt anything like that before,” he said. “Looking back, some of those finals I lost could’ve gone my way, but I was in against top class boys.

“I knew this would be a different ball game, a senior final with no head gear. I knew I had to do it. I knew I had the ability to get the title, but I had work to do. Getting to the 54kgs was the problem, but once I got down it settled in fine.

“I could nearly cry when my name was announced.”