Proposed statue of boxer Jack Doyle in Cobh ‘misguided’
Domestic violence campaigners have criticised plans for a proposed statue honouring boxer Jack Doyle in his hometown of Cobh, Co Cork.
Women’s Aid services manager Gillian Dennehy said the installation is “misguided” and could insinuate to those who abuse partners that their behaviour is acceptable.
Doyle made his name as a British heavyweight title contender in the 1930s, but made his fortune after forging a global reputation as an actor and singer.
With film-star looks and standing at 6ft5in, he entered the ring under the legend The Gorgeous Gael, The Body Beautiful or The King of Clout, and enjoyed massive popularity despite a mediocre record, quickly gaining cult status.
Outside of the ring, he became an infamous socialite and womaniser, befriending royals and Hollywood stars, enjoying a self-destructive lifestyle that became the stuff of legend. But he was also prone to bouts of alcohol-fulled violence, with many of his partners left battered and bruised. He died penniless in London in 1978.
Ms Dennehy believes there is a tendency to ignore aspects of a person’s behaviour “behind closed doors” when they are famous, but says “everyone has a duty to say that domestic abuse is wrong”.
With “one in five women in Ireland experiencing such abuse”, the manager says domestic violence should not be airbrushed from anyone’s character and perpetrators “should not be idolised”.
Cobh already has two plaques commemorating Doyle but the 5ft statue, depicting the fighter seated on a bench, is seen as a major attraction for tourists to pose alongside.
The Cobh municipal district committee intends to provide €8,000 of the €50,000 cost, with the rest raised through local voluntary contributions.
Organisers also hope to invite UFC superstar Conor McGregor to the opening.
Cobh Tourism representative Hendrik Verwey agrees that the statue only represents “one side of the story”, and believes a Jack Doyle summer school would be more appropriate commemoration. He says lectures on domestic violence and alcoholism as well as positive themes like sport, could be held.
However, Colin Barry, whose family undertaking business oversaw the return of Doyle’s ashes to Cobh and who first proposed the statue, disagrees.
He said he “stayed with the man [Doyle] in London and always found him a gentleman”, regardless of “one or two incidents”.
Mr Barry said the fighter “helped a lot of down and outs” and reiterates that the statue would “be good for tourism”.
