Cork boxing club members 'won't throw in the towel' over demolition threat
Committee members of Sunnyside Boxing Club, Cork, in front of the club's former premises off Gerald Griffin Street, Cork, (front from left): Tony Flanagan, assistant coach; Gordon Joyce, club coach; and Carl O'Brien, principal, North Monastery Primary School; (back from left): Ted Dineen, coach; Jim Corbett, committee. Picture: Denis Minihane
Members of a famous amateur boxing club in Cork that has produced several Olympians and Irish champions say they’re prepared to stand their ground to prevent the demolition of the club’s spiritual home.
The building used by Sunnyside Boxing Club on Cork’s northside has been earmarked for demolition as part of a plan to develop three houses on the compact inner-city site at Straw Hall, between St Mary’s Road and Gerald Griffin Street in Blackpool.
But one of the club’s figureheads, Ted Dineen, said while the development plan caught them unawares, club members aren’t prepared to throw in the towel yet.
“It feels like we are being pushed from pillar to post. We are not going to surrender,” he said.
It’s understood the small bungalow was built by local residents on commonage in the 1920s. It was used initially as a community centre, before locals gave permission to a local drag hunt club to use it. They later shared it with Sunnyside. The club accepts it doesn’t own the building, or pay rent on it.
The club has over the years produced top fighters, including Kieran Joyce, who represented Ireland at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, Paul Buttimer, who fought for Ireland at the 1992 Olympics, and Michael Roche, who fought in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The late Irish Olympic team coach, Albie Murphy, also coached at Sunnyside.
But over the years, the clubhouse fell into disrepair and members had to find an alternative training venue.
The club retained the keys to the building and used it occasionally.
But the City Council applied last year for a vested interest in the property. Mr Dineen, and fellow club official, Jim Corbett, said the move came as a shock.
A planning application was later lodged for the demolition of the derelict property, and for the construction of three houses.
The application was subsequently deemed invalid but it’s understood a new application will be made.
Mr Corbett appealed to the council to meet club officials to discuss the future of the building.
“The club could just about fund repairs to the roof and the walls, but building a new clubhouse would be just too expensive,” he said.
But the city council said the property has gone through the derelict sites process and the compulsory acquisition process – and there were no objections.
The processes followed prolonged discussions with the trustees of Griffin United Harriers Club, the owners of the property, the council said.
The trustees of the Harriers Club confirmed they had signed a contract for the sale of the property with a Michael Houlihan, care of O’Donovan Murphy and Partners Solicitors in Bantry, subject to the City Council assisting in the perfection of title, the council said.
It said Mr Houlihan was willing to enter into a derelict sites agreement with the council to further the purchase of the club’s interest and remove the dereliction in accordance with certain terms.
“The boxing club did not declare an interest at any point during these processes until June 2020 when the deadline for objections around acquisition had passed,” the spokesperson said.
