Kildare boxing club fights back after devastating storm

STORM Éowyn may be a forgotten memory for most, but for one Kildare boxing club it became unforgettable, destroying more than a decade of hard work in one night.

“I cried when I seen the damage,” said Paddy Phelan, St Brigid's Boxing Club owner in Kildare Town. “Fifteen years of work gone into it, destroyed. The pictures on the walls that was there from day one, destroyed. Some stuff we can't replace.” 

“We had to start from scratch again,” he said.

The storm badly affected the club’s venue, lifting off the roof and destroying the building’s interior in water damage, which resulted in around €17,000 in damages total.

All equipment had to be replaced, including treadmills, boxing bags, head gear and mats. Paint on the interior was also damaged by the water spilling, which Paddy tried to handle by catching it in 68 buckets.

“It was more than water, it was like a river on the inside of the club,” he said.

Sadly, while dealing with this hardship, Paddy’s father and former boxing club coach, John Phelan, passed away in March.

“He worried about the club all the time, up to the day of him passing away," he said. 

With all of this on his shoulders, Paddy never stopped fighting for the boxing club. Putting in hours of work to repair the damages all while training his students, he has worked tirelessly to bring the club back to its former glory.

“It’s been a horrible time. Some nights I felt like just walking away from the whole lot. I just had enough pressure,” he said.

However, Paddy received amazing support from his community that gave him the energy to continue:

“One of the parents, Lorraine Ryan, she decided we should try to do a GoFundMe. I didn’t want to do it. I always think there’s people that need it worse.” With the support of the GoFundMe, the club was able to raise a fantastic €5100, which went towards buying new punch bags, gloves and headgear to start off.

Paddy was overwhelmed with the amount of support that began pouring in when John Kelly from Fleetwood paint shop in Newbridge donated €1000 worth of paint for revamping the club.

“I genuinely couldn't believe the chap. I thought it was a joke, but it wasn't. He came through with it,” said Paddy.

On top of that, other boxing clubs Paddy has relationships with started donating equipment to the club, and a man named Andy Buckley came onboard and donated an incredible €1000 worth of timber used for rebuilding the boxing ring.

One person Paddy is extremely grateful for is Kildare cllr Suzanne Doyle for all her help in getting the club back up and running.

“What a superstar,” he said. “Regardless of what I rang and looked for, she never let me down.” 

“But it's the likes of the people that came on board, the likes of Lorraine Ryan, John Kelly with Suzanne Doyle, and Andy Buckley. It just gives you hope. It just proves there's still a lot of very good people out there.” 

With bundles of generosity from the people around him, and from further afield, Paddy has been able to rebuild the club.

“Believe it or not, it’s starting to look like a boxing club again.” 

“I’m almost finished painting and we’re trying to source some sort of carpet tiles for the floor. We’re trying to do it as cheap as we can, as quick as we can, as best as we can," he concluded.

It’s been a long road, and the works not finished quite yet, but Paddy’s story goes to show that there’s more people on your side than you realise.