OLYMPIC GAMES:THOUSANDS OF flag-waving fans lined the streets of Mullingar last night to welcome home Olympic boxing silver medallist John Joe Nevin and eventer Joseph Murphy.
“It’s a great turnout,” said Sharon Wyer, who was watching the open-top bus begin its parade through Patrick Street with her young son Ben. “He’s a big fan,” she said.
“They both deserve it,” Christy Glennon said. “It’s great to see it, it’s great for Mullingar.”
John Joe Nevin had a surprise visitor when Mullingar native Niall Horan of boyband One Direction flew in for the event.
Horan received a warm reception when he spoke at Cusack Park in Mullingar, but the crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 raised the noise level enormously when Nevin and Murphy entered the stadium. The pair paraded in front of the delighted crowds and Nevin showed off his trademark Mullingar shuffle.
“First of all I would like to thank everyone for being here. Today it’s a dream come true for me to come back and get represented by such a big crowd,” Nevin told the gathering.
“It means a lot to have my family here today. Without my mother and father I mightn’t have been here today,” the boxer said.
“You might have seen me pointing up at the skies when I was over there – that was for my cousin David who passed away in February. He was another big inspiration,” he said.
Admitting he would “love to go back and fight for a gold medal”, Nevin said he plans to take three weeks off to relax before making any decisions on what he might do in the future. However, he did not rule out the prospect of turning professional.
Speaking about his defeat to Luke Campbell at the Olympics, Nevin said: “I have no excuses. The better man won on the day and I take my hat off to Luke Campbell.”