DEIRDRE GOGARTYS KNOCKOUT DROGHEDA SHOW

She might be long associated with Drogheda but she is actually one of her own from Mornington, and Ireland’s first ever female world boxing champion Deirdre Gogarty is to tell her story to a sell out crowd in Drogheda’s Star And Crescent centre the night before Katie Taylor steps into the ring against Amanda Serrano in Dublin.

The Deirdre Gogarty Legacy Committee has organised a fundraising event to assist in their campaign to erect a statue to Gogarty whose epic battle with Don Kings famous fighter Christy Martin is generally credited with relaunching the womens pro game.

The event, which takes place in the Crescent Concert Hall on May 19th 2023, will be an opportunity for the public to hear Deirdre tell her own story of how she began in Drogheda and struggled for recognition and eventually made it to the pinnacle of World Champion.

Deirdre and other guests will also to tell the story of women’s professional boxing on the Island of Ireland.

On the week of Katie Taylor’s historical homecoming fight, the organising committee see this as the perfect time to highlight the journey women have made in the sport.

Present on the night to tell this story with Deirdre will be other trailblazers in women’s professional boxing including:

Ann-Marie Griffin who fought Deirdre at the Shannon Arms Hotel in Limerick on 30th June 1991 in the Islands first all female bout, although it was unsanctioned.

Deirdre Nelson who was the second professional women’s boxer from the Island who fought for a world title in her first fight. She also took the Boxing Union of Ireland to an Industrial tribunal for not granting her a license, which Deirdre in the end won in 2001 which allowed women in Ireland to obtain licenses moving forward.

Christina Mc Mahon was the first women to obtain a BUI license and box in the Republic. She went on to become WBC Interim Bantamweight World Champion.