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Tuesday July 12, 2006

Ireland's Greatest Puglist

Bert Randolph Sugar Remembers Dan Donnelly

Come all ye true born Irishmen
And listen to me song
And hould your wrist and clench your fist,
For that won't take ye long

While I a song ufold to ye,
Sung wid joyish Irish air,
It's about the Cooper-Dan Donnelly fight,
On the Curragh of Kildare.

The three loud cheers for our own Dan
And the way he fought today,
And another cheer for the Englishman,
Who Couldn't have his way.

And another cheer for the lady fair,
Who had bet her last half crown
As an Irish flag fluttered high in air
And the Union Jack went down.

Oh, Sir Dan was brave and true as gold
And he fought like an Irish knight,
Till the tale of victory was told,
In the bonfires burning light.

Now, before Dan gleams the Emerald sod,
Of Ireland brightened by the sun,
Now he sees again the smiles of god,
Now he hears the brooklets laughing run.

He fought for Ireland and her weal
He did his best to carve a name,
With grimy hands and heart of steel,
Upon the rocky walls of fame.

For gold the merchant ploughs the manor,
But glory is Dan's only prize,
His wealth is honor.

So here's to Dan, our noblest son,
No other need him dare,
For today he made the English run
On the Curragh of Kildare.

This was the song they sang in all of Ireland on the night of September 14th, 1814, in celebration of the victory of Sir Dan Donnelly, Ireland's greatest pugilist, over George Cooper, the heavyweight champion of England.

On the morning of the fight, as the day broke bright and clear on the Curragh of Kildare, even before sunrise, the crowd had begun to gather. Great men of England touched shoulders with great men of Ireland, and all came loaded with gold and silver to wager on their favorite son.

Even before the two pugilists had entered the ring, wealthy Irish men had offered to wager huge sums on Dan Donnelly and the Duke of Cumberland, representing the royal family of England and his agents agreed to cover nearly all the money offered.

It was estimated that a hundred thousand pounds, or $500,000 was wagered on the event. And a total of 30,000 witnessed the battle.

When the call of time was made there were great cheers when Donnelly made a rush at Cooper and let fly with his left, reaching the Englishman directly on the nose.

A moment later 'first blood' was claimed for Donnelly and tremendous cheers went up, to be repeated, when at the end of the first round, Cooper slipped and went down in his corner.

However, Cooper recovered and came out of his corner in the second and landed three blows in succession on his adversary's face without receiving one in return.

There were cheers for Cooper as the second round ended.

At the commencement of the third, the Duchess of Argyle, an ardent supporter Donnelly, went to his corner and said: "I have a fortune bet on you and you can have every dollar I win if you will fight as you can fight. I want you to go into the next round and whip Cooper to death. I know you can do it."

In response to the Duchess' appeal, Donnelly flew out of his corner like a tiger, hammering the Englishman from proverbial pillar to post. It was all over from that time on despite the fact that Cooper held on for dear life.

In the eleventh - and last round - Donnelly came out to scratch looking far the fresher and stronger and seizing Cooper around the neck forced him back against the ropes where he showered blows upon him until he fell to the ground, unconscious.

That night all of Ireland celebrated the victory of their champion, with bonfires built in the streets of Dublin hailing his victory. And all over Ireland the song of Donnelly's victory was sung.

After his victory over Cooper, he met another challenger in Tom Oliver. Again Donnelly won, and this time the King of England made him a knight. With the world at his feet and in his thirty-second year, Dan Donnelly suddenly died. His funeral was the largest ever witnessed in Dublin and while the mourners were following the hearse to 'Bully's Acre,' where Dan was to be buried, the crowd suddenly swooped down on the hearse, unharnesed the horses and, with their own hands, hauled Dan's remains to their final resting place.

And even today, almost two centuries later, the name Dan Donnelly still is remembered in song and deed. And all Irish fighters from that time were viewed as 'Sons of Dan Donnelly,' the greatest pugilist Ireland ever produced.

The Fate Of Dan Donnelly's Arm

Dan Donnelly's body having been laid to rest in 'Bully's Acre' was not destined to remain undisturbed. It was stolen by medical students - an act which instigated riots - despite which the students were successful. The body was purchased from them by the eminent Dublin surgeon, Hall, who, having removed the right arm for the purpose of studying the muscle structure, respectfully re-buried the body. Surgeon Hall transported the arm to Scotland where it remained undisturbed for many years before being purchased by a roving circus man who exhibited it throughout the country in a 'peep show'.

Jim Houlihan, curator of " Fighting Irishman: A Celebration of the Celtic Warrior" that will run from August 28th through November 30th at The Irish Arts Center in New York, with Pauline Turley of the Irish Arts Center and Josephine Byrne owner of Dan Donnelly's arm with Capt. Henry Donohoe Chief Pilot with Aer Lingus (James Higgins)

It later came into the possession of an affluent Ulster bookmaker Hugh 'Texas' McAlevey, himself a boxing fan. Upon his death the arm was procured by Tom Donnelly, a well known wine merchant and sportsman, who presented it to 'The Hide-Out' pub in Kilcullen. After a lapse of over a century, Sir Dan Donnelly's right arm, the bane of many a pugilist, came to rest in the village near which he had trained and triumphed.

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