Born This Day: Giant Haystacks

Born This Day: Giant Haystacks

Date: 10/10/2020 08:05

The professional wrestler Giant Haystacks was born as Martin Austin Ruane on this day, 10th October, 1946. An icon of British wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s, Giant Haystacks also performed in North America under the name the Loch Ness Monster.

However, in Northern Ireland he is perhaps still best remembered for this short-lived bout with Jackie Fullerton in 1980, when he gave the UTV sports presenter a vigorous body slam. 

A clip of that incident was voted as one of UTV’s favourite moments, but it also became popular in the USA and Canada and ten years later the Gerry Kelly interviewed Giant Haystacks and reunited the wrestler with a slightly nervous Jackie Fullerton.


As part of the programme, Giant Haystacks talks about some of the challenges that he faces due to his physique, facing Gerry’s taunts with admirable equanimity.


The full episode of this Kelly Show is newly available on the archive here:
https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/kelly-boxers-ruth-madoc-giant-haystacks-3056
You can also watch the original clip here:
https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/giant-haystacks-bodyslams-jackie-fullerton-2218
This and other favourite UTV moments can be viewed here:
https://digitalfilmarchive.net/media/ultimate-ulster-favourite-utv-moment-2513