Before Deirdre Gogarty became Ireland’s first female world boxing champion in 1997, she had already inspired a young Irish girl. Katie Taylor was learning the art of pugilism at a time when women were banned from boxing in Ireland. Taylor wrote to her hero in 1996, saying she did not “see boxing for girls taking off here”, adding “maybe one day they’ll even let us box in the Olympics”.
As it turned out, Taylor was integral in getting women’s boxing into the Olympics – winning gold in 2012 and then becoming undisputed champion in the pro ranks. As she is set to retire on Saturday as one of Ireland’s greatest sportspeople, Gogarty writes back to the 40-year-old…
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Dear Katie,
As I prepare to come home to Ireland to watch you fight at Croke Park, I keep thinking about just how far we have come.
It has been 39 years since I first walked through the doors of a boxing gym in Drogheda and was finally allowed to train.
Back then, I was told women would never be accepted in boxing. That even if we were allowed to compete, nobody would want to watch.
There was a time when I would have given anything simply to be allowed into a ring. We fought in places with few spectators, little recognition, and almost no opportunities for women.
And now, tens of thousands of people will fill one of Ireland’s most iconic sporting venues to watch two women box… wow!!!
What was once considered unacceptable has become something an entire nation celebrates.
Katie, what you have done for women’s boxing goes far beyond championships, medals, and records.
You didn’t simply succeed in the sport – you helped transform how the world sees it, so that another generation of girls never has to question whether they belong.
When I sit among that enormous crowd at Croke Park, I’ll be thinking about all the women who fought when nobody was watching.
I’ll be thinking about the girls who were told they couldn’t and shouldn’t.
And most of all, I’ll be thinking about the young girls watching you who will never have to ask permission to dream.
With enormous pride and admiration,
Deirdre Gogarty
