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Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Pierce O'Leary will miss birth of his child as he chases world title dream
Pierce O'Leary will miss the birth of his second child later this year as he chases his world title dream. The 16-0 fighter (9 KOs) promises to deliver a "demolition job" when he faces Liam Dillon this weekend as he aims to become the first Dubliner since Bernard Dunne to win a European title. But there won't be much time to celebrate as O'Leary plans to get straight back to work between his Liverpool base and America shortly after Saturday's fight, with a Dublin homecoming in the works for later this year. "My little girl, she's finished school next week so I'll be home for that. I'll be back to camp then and I'll be missing the birth of my second child," explained 'Big Bang', who faces Dilllon on the Fabio Wardley vs Justis Huni card. "That's the sacrifice that needs to be made and that's what we plan on doing. We're going out there and setting the future up." He added: "I'm here to collect belts and that's what I'm doing. If I'm sacrificing the birth of my child or my daughter, I need it to pay dividends so that's what we're going to do." O'Leary will get his first experience of fighting outside on Saturday night when he faces the 15-2-1 Dillon in the co-main event at Ipswich Town FC's Portman Road as he looks to add the EBU European Super Lightweight title to his WBC International belt. And he has dreams of fighting outdoors at home. As a Northsider, the likes of Dalymount Park and Fairview Park are both options, while his brother-in-law is Shamrock Rovers forward Graham Burke and Tallaght Stadium is another possibility. But Dillon is the man O'Leary has to get through first after a number of potential opponents turned down the opportunity to fight time. "Fair play to Liam Dillon stepped up to the plate. He's now a challenger like myself for the belt and I'm looking forward to coming out on top and becoming a European champion," stated O'Leary. "I don't know much about him to be honest. I know he's been in there with the likes of Ryan Garner etc. I never looked too much into detail of him. "I just know for a fact that if I pick up where I left off in sparring and training camp, no one will touch me and that's going to the world level as well. I'm just going out there prepared. I'm bringing the best 'Big Bang' version of myself. "Once I get that done, no one will ever lay a glove on me." It will be O'Leary's first time fighting at 12 rounds and that is something he is relishing after the 'best training camp' of his career so far. "We've done an old school training camp and you see the definition that I'm in from it," he explained. "We sparred 15 rounds one time and I could have gone on and done another 20. That's how fit I am and I'm ready to rock and I'm looking forward to it. I don't think 12 rounds will be an issue at all. "If anything, I'm going to pace myself a little bit more and do more damage." The Sheriff Street native is promoted by Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, who has publicly backed him to become a world champion and that is O'Leary's ultimate aim. In his quest to achieve that, O'Leary will spend time in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Canada and possibly Miami for his next training camp, having struggled to get sparring partners at his weight class in England. "If he can back me being a world champion, that's where I want to go. I want to be a world champion. By March next year I want to be fighting for a world title and I want that to be in Dublin as well," stated O'Leary. "I really and truly believe that's going to happen. I want to be in a mix of all the big names out there." "Then after that, we're going to unify it," he continued. "That's the plan, going to unify the whole division. I truly believe that. "I'm in the mix with the likes of Teofimo Lopez and all the other 140 champions out there. There's also the WBA, Gary Russell Jr., the WBC, Alberto Puello, whatever his name is, and the IBF, which is Richardson Hitchins, who's fighting George Kambosos Jr. "Mix me in with all of them and I guarantee you I'll come out on top. It's only a matter of time." He added: "It's going to be this and main events going forward. That's where I visualise myself and that's what Frank told me to my face personally. He shook on it. "Really big things are going to be happening quite soon. That's what drives me every day and that's what I want. It's been a long time coming but we're now eventually getting the situation that we want. "It's about going out there now and grabbing it with both arms and not letting anyone take that away from me."
Dublin Live
01-06-2025
- General
- Dublin Live
Ballybough celebrates 40 years of the Luke Kelly Bridge
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The Ballybough community rallied together this morning to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the renaming of the historic Ballybough Bridge as the Luke Kelly Bridge. Opened officially on 31st May 1985, the Luke Kelly Bridge spans the Tolka River, linking Fairview with the city. The decision to rename the bridge after Luke Kelly was put forward by the late Tony Gregory TD, reflecting the deep cultural significance of the folk legend to Dubliners. The bridge itself has stood in some form on this site since the late 1400s, undergoing various reconstructions over the centuries, including a major widening in 1985 to accommodate five lanes of traffic. Today's 40th anniversary celebrations proved to be a touching tribute to Luke's legacy and included live music performances by renowned Luke Kelly Tribute Chris Kavanagh & friends. Speaking to Dublin Live at the event, Cllr Nial Ring said: "I can't believe it's been 40 years. It's a great occasion and you can see people that were here then are here again. It's going to be a lovely occasion to celebrate 40 years. "Of course Luke died the previous year. Our good friend from this area Tony Gregory, a great friend of mine and (Cllr Christy Burke's), put forward the proposal. Christy got into the Council and from then on he's done his 40 years. I haven't done quite as long but it's just great to be here and have an occasion like this." Bessie McCann, Luke's sister, said: 'I remember very well the day the bridge was dedicated to my brother. It was a wonderful day. "Luke was a very proud Northsider and he'd be very moved that the people of Ballybough have remembered him in this way." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Son of RTE icon set to play gangster Gerry Hutch in new one-man stage show after getting green light from ‘The Monk'
THE son of late RTE icon Gerry Ryan is to play notorious gangster Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch on stage. Acclaimed actor and director 4 Gerry Hutch has green lighted the show Credit: PA:Press Association 4 The show will start in June Credit: Glass Mask Theatre The show will trace his career from his money-making exploits, the An insider told The Irish Sun that They said: "Gerry was consulted on the show. He had a look at an early draft and trusts Rex to get it right." The Northsider is keen that his life story is accurately told after a recent two-part READ MORE IN NEWS Insiders say that the play came about because Rex is a friend of The Monk's son, Jason, having grown up together in Punters are already buying up tickets for the opening night at the tiny Glass Mark Theatre on Dawson Street. A description of the show read: "Rex Ryan writes and stars in a one man show about the life and times of 'The Monk', Gerry Hutch. 'Gerard Hutch is a law unto himself. An ambiguous, mercurial and now, mythic figure of Irish modern history. Most read in Irish News "'I done lotsa crimes. Some of them I got caught. Some I got away with.'" It added: "Centred around the trial at the special criminal court, join us in Glass Mask as we witness Gerry bear witness to a lifetime of alleged crimes, triumphs and misdemeanours." FASCINATION Rex has long been fascinated by real life hoods, to play crime boss The Rev in Jimmy Murphy's graveside drama Idlewild, (based on the Rex told the Irish Sun in 2018: "I hung out with the prisoners for the day. They were f***ing brutally honest, intelligent and appreciated me going in there. It was incredible. "I had better discussions about the play with the prisoners than most regular audiences I performed for." He forces the audience to challenge their preconceptions about the definition of a Back then Rex argued that "some of the biggest gangsters are in institutions that the public accept as moral leaders of our country". In Jimmy Murphy's play Idlewild, Rex's character, The Rev, is also heard railing in the play about the worst crime in Dublin, that is pensioners "left to die on a hospital trolley because they haven't got any medical insurance" and kids "making do with a grubby little room in a B&B for a home". Rex added: "I know Jimmy Murphy took inspiration from many sources including criminality in Ireland and abroad." He added: "It's an actor's job to portray people from all walks of life." 4 Rex Ryan will star as the Dublin gangster Credit: Garrett White - Commissioned by The Sun Dublin 4 RTE star Gerry Ryan's son is starring Credit: PA:Press Association
