Saturday March 29th 2008 will be long remembered as an historic day in the annals of the Slievenamon B.C. This infant club is based in the village of Cloneen at the foot of the historic mountain.
On that March day the fledgling South Tipperary club won its first All Ireland Boxing Championship. The young lad to achieve this honour was 13 year old Jack Shelly who hails from the neighbouring parish of Mullinahone. More remarkable Jack was winning an All Ireland title for the second year in a row. In 2007 in his initial year in the sport Jack has also brought home the honours.
In hindsight the signs were there from early in the season that Jack was in outstanding form. In Fermoy in the Munster final of the Boy Two 57kg division, Jack defeated his opponent McEligott of Bantry B.C Co. Cork. The contest was stopped by the referee in round one. From Bantry the road led onward and upwards to the All Ireland finals in the National Stadium, Dublin.
In the semi-final Jack was pitted against a boy named Cawley from Ballinasloe who was the Connacht champion and an All Ireland winner last year. No soft touch. Once again Jack produced a master class of boxing skills to produce a third round stoppage and reached his second final in as many years. The final was fixed for the afternoon of Saturday March 29th.
A bus was commandeered and that morning a large contingent of Jack’s club mates, supporters, friends and family descended on the metropolis. They gathered from Mullinahone, from Cloneen and from places beyond to support their local hero. In the final Jack had to take on yet another All Ireland winner from last year. This time it was Ulster’s finest, a lad called Gallagher from the famous boxing city of Belfast.
From the opening bell Jack was all over his opponent, never allowing him to settle. He himself was scoring freely and he held a comfortable lead at the conclusion of round one. In the second round it was more of the same and when Jack produced another barrage of scoring punches to his overwhelmed opponent, the referee had no option but to bring a halt to proceedings prematurely. After an absolutely scintillating performance, once again Jack Shelly was a champion of All Ireland.
There were wild scenes of jubilation and excitement as Jack’s hand was raised in victory. Amazingly he stopped all his opponents in these championship finals inside the distance without conceding a point to any of them. Surely a record. In the elation of victory we mustn’t forget the dedicated work of Jack’s backroom team of coaches and mentors.
Club co-founder John Grace, a former boxer himself, left no stone unturned in his efforts to bring an All Ireland title to the club. Jack’s father, Johnny, also a co-founder who himself boxed with distinction for many years in his younger days, gave his all in his son’s quest for glory and was duly rewarded. Another club coach John Kelly, also gave invaluable assistance to the team and his contribution is greatly appreciated. Then, of course, there’s “the Daddy” of them all, the vastly experienced Mike Quirke who has forgotten more about the “noble are” than any of the rest of us will ever know. A prolific boxer for many years, both here and in Great Britain, Mike’s knowledge of the sport, allied to his astute tactical awareness contributed enormously to Jack’s success.
A mention too of Jack’s mother Alacoque who though always nervous when Jack is in the ring must be hugely proud of his fantastic achievement. Once more well done Jack. You deserve all the accolades and adulation that come your way and you can be justly proud of all you have achieved. Long may your roller coaster of success continue.
Video of Jack's Fight can be seen here
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