An institution in Irish sport was brought to an end this week with the closure of the Eastwood gym in Chapel Lane, Belfast. The closure may well spell the end of the Eastwood involvement in the sport, an involvement which brought great pride and excitement to the whole country and which produced a string of splendid young boxers and a string of titles - no fewer than five world championships in fact and many British and Irish titles as well.

The reigning WBO super middleweight champion Steve Collins was a member of the Eastwood stable for a time and used the Eastwood gym which means that the tally could be said to reach six - a quite remarkable record.

The five world title winners were Barry McGuigan, who was the WBA featherweight champion, the IBF flyweight champion Dave "Boy" McAuley, two South Americans, light heavyweight Victor Cordoba and welterweight Chrisanto Espana, and another featherweight champion, Paul Hodkinson from England.

The first British champion out of the stable was Hugh Russell at bantamweight but many others were to follow including Sammy Storey, McAuley and Ray Close but chief among them all was Barry McGuigan who electrified the country with a series of great bouts.

The double bill of McGuigan and Russell packed the King's Hall regularly in the early 1980s and hardened boxing observers from around the world were all in agreement that the atmosphere which the King's Hall generated, when these two topped the bill, could not be matched anywhere else in the world.

The Eastwood gym, like many another, was not a luxurious resort by any means but it had that authentic "feel" about it which set the pulses pumping.

One cannot think of the Eastwood gym without seeing the chubby, boyish face of Eddie Shaw who did more than most to foster the string of talent which the gym attracted. Sadly he died prematurely and sadly too the relationship between Barney Eastwood and Barry McGuigan, which many described as one similar to that between father and son, disintegrated into bitterness and rancour and finally ended up in the courts.

But for those of us who were privileged to be part of the happier days there is a feeling of the loss of a part of life.

This writer was extremely fortunate to come upon the boxing writing scene about the same time as McGuigan and Russell hit the high spots. Visits to Belfast for the big nights became a ritual and the short walk from the Europa Hotel to meet Barney Eastwood in the Olympic Bar before crossing the street to the gym became familiar and totally enjoyable.

Although Barney Eastwood retained his enthusiasm for the fight game for long after the McGuigan-Eastwood era had come to an end, things never really generated the same level of excitement although the discerning Belfast boxing public remained faithful.

But it wasn't only Belfast people. On the big nights in the King's Hall the accents of Wexford or Limerick or Offaly were as strong as those from Monaghan, Derry or Belfast. The entire country was electrified by the excitement of it all.

Who can possibly forget the scenes in the streets of Dublin when McGuigan came back from London after beating Eusebio Pedroza to take the world title? At the time people compared it to the visit of the Pope. That may have been a slight exaggeration, but it was an unforgettable occasion, for which the seeds had been sown in that modest Chapel Lane gym.

Barney Eastwood's influence was always the most potent in those days. Tireless in the gym, in the promotion of the fights, the press conferences, the weigh-ins, a corner man at the fights themselves and host at the after-fight parties he threw everything into the effort. He became well-known in boxing circles the world over but he was always as much at home in the Olympic Bar or the gym or the King's Hall or the Curragh or Croke Park for that matter.

Pressure of business and a need to expand the bookies shop which also houses the gym have forced the decision on the Eastwood organisation but it need not necessarily be the end of Eastwood's interest in boxing.

The Eastwood organisation now has 45 betting shops and, as the Chapel Lane building is the head office more space is needed for the administration of the business according to a spokesman.

But the hope that another young talented boxer with the necessary skills might appear, still attracts the boxing manager in Barney Eastwood. "If I saw a lad with potential I would still be interested. I'm still keeping my eyes open," he said this week.

The Chapel Lane gym may be gone but the state of boxing in Belfast is healthy and if the right young man can be found then the rafters at the King's Hall may yet ring again to "Here We Go! Here We Go! Here We Go!"