Latest news with #DannyBoy
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
‘I'm a Catholic and I married a Protestant. I broke all the rules': Barry McGuigan still standing despite life's punches
'At 9.44pm Barry appeared in his blue and gold dressing gown, walking behind the now customary blue flag of peace, to the strains of the theme music from 'Rocky'. The noise reached a pitch which didn't abate until 9.50 when the fighters and their teams were in the ring and Barry's father, Pat, took the microphone to sing 'Danny Boy'.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Barry McGuigan reflects on an 'incredible night' 40 years on from Pedrosa fight
It is 40 years today since Barry McGuigan beat Panama's Eusebio Pedroza to win a world title at Loftus Road on 8 June 1985. Set against the backdrop of the Troubles, the Clones man was a beacon of hope during perilous times, and his world title victory was a moment that defined a boxing era. McGuigan, 64, told BBC Sport: "Those sort of vivid memories are so burned into your brain that you'll never forget. "Winning the world title against Pedroza, having an audience of almost 19 million people. Winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the year that Dennis Taylor won the snooker. It was an amazing year for sport, and yet there were lots of tragedies and people dying here because of the Troubles. "Walking to the ring took us 12 minutes to walk 60 yards because the fans were so fanatical. "Then Pedroza came out to some sort of Spanish music, and he took him all of 25, 30 seconds to go from the away dugout dressing room to the ring as opposed to mine. "But it was the fanatical support that we had. You know, we reckon 14,000 people travelled over from Dublin and Belfast and Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. "It was an incredible night. It just fizzed and the old man got in and sang Danny Boy and everybody sang it back, and then the bell went, and off we went and it was flat out." After many defences of his European featherweight title, McGuigan finally got a shot at the world belt. But he was taking on a boxer who had held the world title for seven years, defending it against 18 different fighters. "I knew I had to pressurise him because technically he was much better than me," McGuigan said. "I had to beat him with pace and pressure, and I just was on him from the start, putting him back, backing him up, making him fight at a pace that was uncomfortable for him. "And that's how you take away their technique advantage, just being on them non-stop, and that was my style. "Then whacking the body when I could, and then the round that changed it all was round seven, bang, down. "Suddenly everything went bonkers. The noise was deafening. Stanley Christodoulou was the South African referee, and he was looking around for me. I ran to the neutral corner immediately because I knew I'd hurt him, and then he counted him and then waved us on ."I came in and I went, I'm going to throw a right hook at him. And I went left side, right side, left side, and I swung, and he just went, shh. I went whizzing past him, missed him by about that much. "But that told me that he wasn't that badly hurt. So I knew at that stage, you know, he was very alert and he was stunned, but he was still very compos mentis. "I tried a right hook and I chased him back, hit him with a couple of left hands, but I never hit him with that right hand again in that round. "Then I had him in real trouble in the 9th round, and then he was out on his feet in the 13th. Legs went, but again, he was a formidable champion. He just stayed in there to the end of the 15 rounds. "But that night I was on such a high, I could have fought 20 rounds. I was just so up for the fight. I was so emotionally fired up for it."
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I'm a Catholic and I married a Protestant. I broke all the rules' – Barry McGuigan still standing despite life's punches
'At 9.44pm Barry appeared in his blue and gold dressing gown, walking behind the now customary blue flag of peace, to the strains of the theme music from 'Rocky'. The noise reached a pitch which didn't abate until 9.50 when the fighters and their teams were in the ring and Barry's father, Pat, took the microphone to sing 'Danny Boy'.
The Irish Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Emotional moment Eamonn Holmes fights back tears on his podcast – hours after dramatic on-screen fall
EAMONN Holmes fought back tears on his podcast - just hours after his dramatic fall live on air. on set just two weeks after he was rushed to hospital in another fall. Advertisement 4 Eamonn Holmes became emotional as he filmed his second podcast episode Credit: Youtube 4 The TV presenter struggled to get his words out as he remembered his late father Credit: Youtube 4 Eamonn's father Leonard passed away aged 65 from a heart attack Credit: Instagram/Eamonn Holmes Eamonn was hailed as a "trooper" by his colleagues - who praised him for keeping calm and carrying on. Just hours after the accident, the broadcaster was left in floods of tears as he remembered his late father during a podcast interview with former boxer Barry McGuigan. On Thursday, Eamonn was filming the second episode for his Things We Like podcast when an story about Barry's father, Pat - who passed away at the age of 52 - appeared visibly upset. Eamonn recalled how Barry's father would sing the traditional Irish melody Danny Boy from the ring before many of his fights. Advertisement READ MORE ON EAMONN HOLMES Eamonn said: "Your dad was a special man. I know he was very special to you. "Barry used to come out to the ring to Danny Boy; it would be emotional, I'm sure Barry's the same." Eamonn fought back tears and he added: "It brings tears to my eyes, because of my own dad, for reasons I won't go into." He then asked Barry, who won the British featherweight title in 1983, how emotional that was for him. Advertisement Most read in News TV Barry also struggled to speak, with his voice breaking, he said: "My old man. My dad was very important to me." Eamonn Holmes reveals injured area after shock fall live on TV He paused for a moment before he continued and said: "He saw me winning the world title and he died unfortunately at 52. "So he was only a young man. But he was great, he was a really big part of my life." Singer Pat, who represented Ireland at the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, died in 1987 following a period of ill health. Advertisement While Eamonn's father Leonard suffered a fatal heart attack while driving in the countryside of Northern Ireland aged 65 and recalled the harrowing experience in his 2006 autobiography, This Is My Life. SAD LOSS The presenter had been in London over Easter in 1991 when his parents and younger brother Conor spent the weekend in their caravan in seaside town Ballycastle, Antrim. Following the weekend, Eamonn called his parent's home on April 3 hoping to hear all about their trip however there was no answer, nor to the call he made 30 minutes later. At 7pm that night, Eamonn received a phonecall from his other brother Colm who told him of their father's death after he had taken ill returning from their trip. Advertisement The broadcaster wrote in his book that his father became unwell suddenly and had pulled over on the road and couldn't move from the driver's seat - but on a country road and without a phone the wasn't much Eamonn's mother Josie could do. By chance a family friend, John Linehan, had been visiting the area and came to their aid while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Eamonn wrote: "When John got to the car, Daddy was still in the driver's seat. Mum had already flagged someone down who telephoned for help. "Conor, loyal to the end, took on the role of an adult and was still on the back seat, leaning over holding on to his dad. Advertisement He continued: "He grew up a lot that night. Realising his distress, John steered him away from what was going on. He then knelt beside Dad. "As they waited for an ambulance, John kept talking to him until he became unconscious. He tried to resuscitate him but by the time the ambulance crew got there it was too late. "At sixty-five years old, before he could retire from work and spend many more days with Mum, a heart attack had taken my dad away from us." Upon hearing the devastating news, Eamonn rushed to Heathrow airport and managed to get on the final flight to Belfast so he could be with his family. Advertisement The TV star said that his mother Josie never got over Leonard's death, while Eamonn explained that he never got over the grief of seeing his father's body in the mortuary. EAMONN'S FALL Eamonn's emotional podcast recording comes after he Speaking at the end of the show, Eamonn told viewers: "The chair gave way and I was lying flat on my back with my head hanging off the set. "The first hour or so I was OK because the adrenaline kicked in, but then as the morning went on I felt the aches and pains. Advertisement "The worst thing is that two weeks ago I was hospitalised for a similar fall in the same area, back of my neck, head and shoulders and that's all come back." He added: "We're going to have to replace the chairs because I'm not the only one to have fallen." Commentator Charlie Rowley, who was on-screen when He wrote on X: "Eamonn, you are the real hero for carrying on this morning. Advertisement "A true professional and National Treasure who I learn from each and every week. It's a privilege working with you, Ellie Costello and the rest of the GB News family. Take care!" At the end of the show, in conversation with colleagues Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner, Bev told viewers: "Now, if you weren't watching earlier this morning, you will have missed our resident stunt man, Eamonn Holmes. "Eamonn, as we know, struggles with his health at the moment. He has some good days, he has some bad days. Well this morning it turned out it was a bad day." "Unfortunately we have these chairs on wheels so we can jump in and out quickly. Advertisement "We have to jump to the camera, we have to nip out to the loo sometimes, and sometimes we have 30 seconds to do that. "Eamonn pushed his chair back this morning and ended up on the floor." Andrew continued: "Eamonn was flat out, 180 degree angle, saying 'carry on'. "He shouted from under the desk, he did carry on and he got up and carried on with the show. What a trooper he is." Advertisement 4 Eamonn suffered a fall yesterday live on TV Credit: GB News
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Emotional moment Eamonn Holmes fights back tears on his podcast – hours after dramatic on-screen fall
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EAMONN Holmes fought back tears on his podcast - just hours after his dramatic fall live on air. The presenter, 65, ended up on his back on set just two weeks after he was rushed to hospital in another fall. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Eamonn Holmes became emotional as he filmed his second podcast episode Credit: Youtube 4 The TV presenter struggled to get his words out as he remembered his late father Credit: Youtube 4 Eamonn's father Leonard passed away aged 65 from a heart attack Credit: Instagram/Eamonn Holmes Eamonn was hailed as a "trooper" by his colleagues - who praised him for keeping calm and carrying on. Just hours after the accident, the broadcaster was left in floods of tears as he remembered his late father during a podcast interview with former boxer Barry McGuigan. On Thursday, Eamonn was filming the second episode for his Things We Like podcast when an story about Barry's father, Pat - who passed away at the age of 52 - appeared visibly upset. Eamonn recalled how Barry's father would sing the traditional Irish melody Danny Boy from the ring before many of his fights. Eamonn said: "Your dad was a special man. I know he was very special to you. "Barry used to come out to the ring to Danny Boy; it would be emotional, I'm sure Barry's the same." Eamonn fought back tears and he added: "It brings tears to my eyes, because of my own dad, for reasons I won't go into." He then asked Barry, who won the British featherweight title in 1983, how emotional that was for him. Barry also struggled to speak, with his voice breaking, he said: "My old man. My dad was very important to me." Eamonn Holmes reveals injured area after shock fall live on TV He paused for a moment before he continued and said: "He saw me winning the world title and he died unfortunately at 52. "So he was only a young man. But he was great, he was a really big part of my life." Singer Pat, who represented Ireland at the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, died in 1987 following a period of ill health. While Eamonn's father Leonard suffered a fatal heart attack while driving in the countryside of Northern Ireland aged 65 and recalled the harrowing experience in his 2006 autobiography, This Is My Life. SAD LOSS The presenter had been in London over Easter in 1991 when his parents and younger brother Conor spent the weekend in their caravan in seaside town Ballycastle, Antrim. Following the weekend, Eamonn called his parent's home on April 3 hoping to hear all about their trip however there was no answer, nor to the call he made 30 minutes later. At 7pm that night, Eamonn received a phonecall from his other brother Colm who told him of their father's death after he had taken ill returning from their trip. The broadcaster wrote in his book that his father became unwell suddenly and had pulled over on the road and couldn't move from the driver's seat - but on a country road and without a phone the wasn't much Eamonn's mother Josie could do. By chance a family friend, John Linehan, had been visiting the area and came to their aid while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Eamonn wrote: "When John got to the car, Daddy was still in the driver's seat. Mum had already flagged someone down who telephoned for help. "Conor, loyal to the end, took on the role of an adult and was still on the back seat, leaning over holding on to his dad. He continued: "He grew up a lot that night. Realising his distress, John steered him away from what was going on. He then knelt beside Dad. "As they waited for an ambulance, John kept talking to him until he became unconscious. He tried to resuscitate him but by the time the ambulance crew got there it was too late. "At sixty-five years old, before he could retire from work and spend many more days with Mum, a heart attack had taken my dad away from us." Upon hearing the devastating news, Eamonn rushed to Heathrow airport and managed to get on the final flight to Belfast so he could be with his family. The TV star said that his mother Josie never got over Leonard's death, while Eamonn explained that he never got over the grief of seeing his father's body in the mortuary. EAMONN'S FALL Eamonn's emotional podcast recording comes after he fell off his chair on GB News. Speaking at the end of the show, Eamonn told viewers: "The chair gave way and I was lying flat on my back with my head hanging off the set. "The first hour or so I was OK because the adrenaline kicked in, but then as the morning went on I felt the aches and pains. "The worst thing is that two weeks ago I was hospitalised for a similar fall in the same area, back of my neck, head and shoulders and that's all come back." He added: "We're going to have to replace the chairs because I'm not the only one to have fallen." Commentator Charlie Rowley, who was on-screen when Eamonn fell this morning, also paid tribute to the veteran host. He wrote on X: "Eamonn, you are the real hero for carrying on this morning. "A true professional and National Treasure who I learn from each and every week. It's a privilege working with you, Ellie Costello and the rest of the GB News family. Take care!" At the end of the show, in conversation with colleagues Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner, Bev told viewers: "Now, if you weren't watching earlier this morning, you will have missed our resident stunt man, Eamonn Holmes. "Eamonn, as we know, struggles with his health at the moment. He has some good days, he has some bad days. Well this morning it turned out it was a bad day." "Unfortunately we have these chairs on wheels so we can jump in and out quickly. "We have to jump to the camera, we have to nip out to the loo sometimes, and sometimes we have 30 seconds to do that. "Eamonn pushed his chair back this morning and ended up on the floor." Andrew continued: "Eamonn was flat out, 180 degree angle, saying 'carry on'. "He shouted from under the desk, he did carry on and he got up and carried on with the show. What a trooper he is."
