Sir, – Trust Katie to bring the summer! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Well done Katie and all our other Irish medal winners. Imagine what we could do with serious investment in our athletes. Is there any chance we could entice Brother Colm O’Connell (Sport, August 9th) back to Ireland to give our runners the same training and support he has given to David Rudisha, the winner and world record breaker of the men’s 800m final? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – What will it take for male commentators to stop referring to world-beating professional sportswomen (such as Katie Taylor) as “girls”? Are sportsmen aged 26 referred to as “boys”? No. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Perhaps the insult “You fight like a girl” can now be retired? – Yours, etc,
A chara, – I said a prayer for Katie Taylor going into the third round – I didn’t think she would need any divine intervention until she was two points down. Whether it was my prayer or the fact that it was added to the thousands of other nervous beings who said a quiet prayer, it doesn’t matter now she’s got the ultimate gold medal that most only dream about.
I would still have reservations about women taking up boxing as a sport. Katie is lucky that she has so far preserved her good looks and her faculties are intact. To keep everything in that order now that she has reached her goal, she should hang up her gloves for good.
Katie Taylor should treat the aftermath of her gold-winning performance as a business, a payback time for all the years of dietary and social curtailment. If handled correctly she should have no future money worries and good luck to her and her proud and committed Irish family. – Is mise,
Sir, – What a wonderful role- model Katie Taylor is for us all. Our kids have been starved of such people lately. Thank you Katie for lifting us all, young and not so young.
Also, our great Irish supporters have once again endeared themselves to the world sports family. I was particularly heartened by their support for Nicola Adams (the British flyweight winner) in her bout. Maybe we have begun to see the end of the “anyone but the Brits” brigade. For far too long we have been subjected to their negative and inane chants. The British support for our Olympians has silenced most of them.
Finally as Bernard Dunne’s former school principal in Neilstown I must compliment him and his fellow boxing panellists for a wonderful, informative and articulate analysis of each bout. Maith thú Bernard! – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I was most interested to read David McKenna’s misgivings about the sport of boxing (August 10th). I would be even more interested to discover what alternative sports he has in mind that might provide a more edifying spectacle.
Perhaps rugby, in which opponents, who would be separated by several weight divisions in boxing, collide violently with one another would be more appropriate? Or cycling, where the highest achievements have too often proved to be not what they seemed. Or maybe football, whose overpaid elite routinely try to con referees into awarding free kicks and penalties, thus sending out the message that it’s okay to cheat.
Boxing is an ancient and noble sport that advertises the virtues of skill, character and fair play as exemplified by our wonderful representatives in the discipline during this Olympics. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Regarding the fleet-footed Usain Bolt’s sprinting prowess, perhaps there’s something to be said for the concept of “nominative determinism” after all? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Why Team UK, Team GB, Team Northern Ireland, Team Ireland or Team All Ireland? Why not Team Europe? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Without wishing to diminish the fantastic achievement of Katie Taylor, I was surprised to hear her referred to on RTÉ radio as “Ireland’s greatest ever female sportsperson”. Is that not taking the revisionist view of Irish Olympic history a bit far? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – What a fantastic day. Katie Taylor epitomises everything that is positive about sport. Talented, hard-working, gracious, humble and a well-deserving Olympic champion. She restores your faith in the values of honesty and integrity, and offers a reminder that you can achieve your dreams. The noise, the fans, the emotions when her hand was raised and when the anthem was played were just great.
She is an icon. The very best of luck to her and her family in whatever she chooses to do with the rest of her life.
Isn’t sport just wonderful when it’s like this? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – We see the pride shown when our national flag was raised after our superstar Katie Taylor won her gold medal and Amhran na Bhfiann was sung in full voice all over Ireland.
As a supporter of rugby I think it’s time for the IRFU to scrap Ireland’s Call at all international matches, and play and sing our national anthem instead. It would offer pride, spirit, courage to control fear when facing the opposition. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – After Katie Taylor’s magnificent gold medal winning performance in London, several districts in leafy South County Dublin have applied to have their addresses redesignated as Bray North. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – It was wonderful to see Katie Taylor fulfil her sporting potential by winning an Olympic gold medal. But what was even more wonderful was to hear our national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, played out as an Irish athlete finally stood at the top of an Olympic podium, for the first time in eight years. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Stephen O’Byrnes got it right – adequate facilities must be provided for our Olympic teams (Opinion, August 10th). To this end perhaps the “Bertie Bowl” should be constructed in preparation for the next games. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – As many politicians and public representatives rush to congratulate Katie Taylor on her magnificent win, will they take time to reflect on the fact that it had less to do with their or our State’s support, than on her continuous need to sprint across the street in Bray to use a local toilet, as her gym has never had one. First world results achieved with third world facilities. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While the sentiment of Michael O’Toole’s letter calling for a “Team All Ireland” at the Rio Olympics is to be commended, it should be recognised that there have always been athletes from the North who have represented Ireland at the Olympics.
The effect of their involvement has been most evident in boxing, with my home city of Belfast having contributed nine out of Ireland’s historic haul of 29 medals. These boxers have been drawn from both sides of the community in the city. Wayne McCullough of the Shankill Road carried the Irish flag at Seoul in 1988 and subsequently went on to win a silver medal in Barcelona four years later. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – With John Joe Nevin boxing his way to an Olympic final and bringing further joy to this economically depressed country, isn’t it a little bit ironic that the majority of his fellow Travellers would struggle to enjoy a celebratory drink in an Irish pub? Discrimination against Irish Travellers continues to be a blight on our society and hopefully Nevin, as a role model, will increase people’s awareness of this side of our society rather than the comments and attitudes that are the norm.
This would be the real highlight of Olympic glory that in 2012 the Irish State and its people finally treat all of its children equally. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – With all the deserved acclaim for our Olympic boxers in London, may I suggest that a special medal be struck and presented to Jimmy Magee, RTÉ’s ringside commentator, whose informed, professional and insightful commentaries on all the “Irish fights” have been instrumental in bringing television viewers in to a ringside seat beside him.
As I write, there is more to come and I am looking forward to joining those in the Excel arena in their choruses of “Olé” and The Fields of Athenry. – Yours, etc,