Jack Doyle - The Holy Ground

Jack Doyle Memorial at the Holy Ground

The countdown to the Jack Doyle centenary is underway with just over two weeks to go. In setting the scene author Michael Taub and Lilliput Press have kindly allowed us to reproduce some excerpts from the biography Jack Doyle - The Gorgeous Gael.

The following extract describes Jack's return to Cobh and more particularly his birthplace, the 'Holy Ground,' not long after his meteoric rise to fame....

"He was almost too young to be a hero, this boy of 19 whom fame had beckoned. Even heroes are allowed to catch their breath, and he had not quite counted on the whole harbour town of Cobh turning out to greet him. Nor had he imagined that a pipe-band would be waiting to parade him along the waterfront and out to the Holy Ground, where he was born. He was shaken by the magnitude of the welcome as he waved to the hundreds who lined the route, many of them hanging from upstairs windows. All were anxious to catch a glimpse of the handsome buachaill who had grown up in their midst and whose fighting deeds had given them cause for rejoicing. He was their local boy made good, their chieftain returning from glorious battle.
   His brother Bill, then 15, recalled:

View from the sea wall

'He jumped up on the sea wall and made an impromptu speech: "My next aim is Jack Petersen and the British title. Then I'll be after Larry Gains and the Empire title. And after that it will be full speed ahead to the championship of the world." A mighty roar went up and someone asked him to give them a song. He sang Mother Machree just for Mum and you could have heard a pin drop. People were crying, so beautifully did he sing it. Afterwards they shouted things like, "We love you Joe. We're proud of you." He had them all in the palm of his hand and he knew it. He was a majestic figure.'

Jack Doyle sparring in the ring

   Sadly for 'Joe' it could only be a fleeting visit. Brigadier-General Critchley had wasted no time in arranging his next contest. It was to be at the Royal Albert Hall in just three weeks' time and, against a Frenchman whose name he could not even pronounce. He had not wanted to fight again so quickly. Already he'd had eight bouts in his first six months as a professional boxer and he needed a break. He would have preferred a little time to savour his success - to get the feel of being famous. But he had no option other than to go through with the contest, if only to appease his new master. The Brigadier had a reputation for being as prickly as the thin moustache that lined his upper lip.
   Before heading back to London, he decided to steal a few days to renew old friendships. He would step back from the present and remind himself how life had been just a few short years earlier, before his sudden rise to fame."

Michael Taub will be attending the centenary and will be speaking at the Gala Dinner/Birthday Bash on Saturday 31st August. Michael will also be doing a number of book signings over the course of the weekend.

This should be a great weekend and is eagerly awaited. Full details of what's happening will follow shortly....watch this space!!!