Gerry Storey

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Gerry Storey MBE is an Irish boxing trainer who has coached the Irish Olympic Boxing Team on four occasions.[1]

Storey is the head coach of the Holy Family Boxing Club in north Belfast.[2] Storey and the club were featured in the BBC documentary Fight Town in 2003, and the club also appeared in the Daniel Day-Lewis film The Boxer.[3][4] As a professional boxer, Storey won a British Championships title.[5] Storey has trained many boxers including Hugh Russell, Neil Sinclair and former world Featherweight champion Barry McGuigan.

McGuigan was training by Storey from the age of 14 through to his Olympic and Commonwealth bids, and claims Storey's club is the "most successful boxing club in the country".[4] Storey's son Sammy is also an accomplished amateur boxer who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1986 Commonwealth Games.[4][5]

Storey's work has helped to bridge the sectarian divide in Belfast, as he trains both Catholics and Protestants.[4][6] During the 1981 Irish hunger strike he was asked by Loyalist and Republican prisoners to oversee boxing training in the Maze Prison gymnasium.[2] As a result of his work he won the Sport For Good award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Estoril, Portugal on 16 May 2005. Storey received his award from Barry McGuigan and Marvin Hagler, and was the first Irish sportsperson to win a Laureus award.[1] Storey was honoured by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association for his contribution to the sport in Dublin on 2 February 2007.[7]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Storey picks up world sport award. BBC News (17 May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  2. ^ a b Alex McGreevy (17 May 2005). Storey receives prestigious Laureus Award. Irish Boxing. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  3. ^ The unglamorous side of boxing is explored on BBC World Service. BBC (13 May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  4. ^ a b c d Alan Hubbard (21 May 2006). Boxing: Storey gives peace fighting chance. The Independent. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  5. ^ a b Bernard O'Neill (2 January 2007). Irish Legends honoured at finals. SecondsOut.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  6. ^ Kathleen Nutt (9 July 2000). Fighting the good fight. The Sunday Herald. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  7. ^ Joyce shines at National Championships. RTÉ (3 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-16.

[edit] External links

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