Barry McGuigan was more than
just a boxer in the early and mid-1980s. He was a unifying force on the island
of Ireland, beloved in both his native Republic of Ireland and in his adopted
homeland of the north. His defeat in Las Vegas in 1986 when he relinquished his
world featherweight boxing title came as a body blow to all those who followed
sport in Ireland, and many who only watched boxing for McGuigan. Ivan Little
reported from Clones in Co Monaghan and the shop run by his parents in a town
which was still sporting the banners erected in anticipation of victory.
Forced
to fight outside his comfort zone in the blistering heat of the Nevada summer,
McGuigan had succumbed to exhaustion, and his mother lays the blame for the
defeat squarely at the feet of his management. This is a sentiment echoed by
his brother-in-law, who suggests that tensions between McGuigan and his manager
will come to the fore in the weeks ahead. These were prescient remarks. Even in
despair, however, the people of Clones were still preparing to give their
returning son a hero's welcome home.