Donore Boxing Club is in early talks with Dublin City Council and the St Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration board to relocate their facilities to the site of the demolished St Teresa’s flats.
Although negotiations with the council and the Regeneration Board are only in early stages, head coach Gerry Balfe Smith is hopeful that the move will eventually be completed.
For him, the most important thing is to “turn the positive support into action”. Olympic gold medallist Michael Carruth and Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Egan have been supportive of the club’s efforts to find a new premises, despite neither being former members.
“Michael was always a Drimnagh boxer but he would come down to us with his Dad Austin and his brothers who were also excellent boxers. The best sparring in Dublin at that time was here in Donore,” said Balfe Smith.
The Liberties boxing club has been at its current home on Donore Avenue since 1972, but have long since outgrown it.
The club’s current home is actually two flats knocked together, which is clearly not feasible for a sporting club to operate in.
According to Balfe Smith, the club’s current premises can hold a maximum of 15 people training at any one time.
The club currently boasts 40 members, meaning that training sessions consistently have to be split in two to accommodate everyone.
Demolition of the flats at St Teresa’s Gardens began in February 2015, and regeneration has been a buzz word about the vacant site ever since.
By Shane O’Brien
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