Probe into ‘barbaric’ fight after video made
The 90-second clip has been removed from the site after confirmation of a Garda investigation.
Traditionally bareknu-ckle fighting is associated with a minority in the Traveller community.
However, gardaí said the men allegedly engaged in the incident on wasteland in Listowel were not Travellers — a point also noted in a comment posted below the YouTube video.
The fight is believed to have taken place in an industrial estate in the north Kerry town of Listowel on Monday morning.
The men, in their 20s, were clearly identifiable in the video footage.
People off camera were heard to encourage the pugilists with shouts of “go on, go on” and one man was mentioned by name a number of times.
The men are understood to be from Tralee and Listowel, and their identities are known to gardaí.
One is tattooed and was stripped to the waist while the other wore a black singlet.
They wrestled on the ground for about 10 seconds and then rose to their feet, punching each other in the face and chest.
One was bleeding from the right eye. After 90 seconds, both appeared to be exhausted and stopped fighting, with some onlookers urging them to shake hands.
One spectator, however, was adamant they should not make any peace gestures. It was not clear from the footage if they shook hands.
The reason for the fight was unclear but local speculation suggested cash was exchanged in bets on the outcome.
Town councillor Tim O’Leary (FG) condemned the incident, saying the sight of two men “beating the lard out of each other” surprised and shocked people.
“This type of incident is new to the area,” he said.
“It’s barbaric behaviour which left the men bloody and bruised. They put themselves at risk of serious injury.”
He believed footage was posted on YouTube to get publicity and possibly to promote bareknuckle fighting in Kerry.
Mr O’Leary, a retired garda sergeant, said he would be co-operating with the investigation.
“Everyone knows boxing has very strict rules but there was no control, whatever, over what took place. It was done in secret and was not good.”
Supt Michael Fitzpatrick of Listowel confirmed that the fight was being investigated as a public order incident.
