In January 1997, Deirdre Gogarty made history as the first Irishwoman to win a world boxing title. However, her groundbreaking achievement was met with little recognition. Despite being promised $12,500 for her fight in the United States, she never received the money.
Back home in Ireland, the event was barely acknowledged, and it wasn’t until months later that it even made the headlines. Women's boxing was still illegal in Ireland at the time, and public sentiment wasn’t particularly supportive of female athletes in the sport.
Gogarty faced many challenges during her career. Although she was a world champion, she still encountered significant opposition. The conservative nature of Irish society meant that boxing wasn’t seen as an appropriate pursuit for women. Many people resisted the idea of women’s participation in such a rough and traditionally male-dominated sport.
Growing up in a conservative environment, Gogarty experienced strong societal pressures. Women were expected to take up more "feminine" interests, and boxing was seen as unsuitable. Gogarty’s family, particularly her mother, encouraged her to pursue sports like golf instead.
Nevertheless, by the time she was 17, she had fully dedicated herself to boxing. She moved to Dublin to train with coach Pat McCormack and spent four years trying to find an opponent in Ireland, facing roadblocks at every turn. Despite finally securing a fight in Limerick in 1991, it would be her last on Irish soil due to ongoing legal restrictions on women's boxing.
With opportunities for women’s boxing scarce in Ireland, Gogarty made the difficult decision to leave her home country and move to Louisiana in the early 1990s. There, she trained under Beau Williford, a former sparring partner of Muhammad Ali. This marked the start of a new chapter in her career.
Over the next two years, she fought nine times, enduring tough conditions both in and out of the ring. Despite the challenges, her determination never wavered, and she continued to chase her dream of becoming a world champion. One of the most notable moments of her career came in 1996 when she fought Christy Martin on the undercard of a Mike Tyson heavyweight fight.
The match drew significant attention, and despite the odds being stacked against her, Gogarty delivered a memorable performance. Though she fought on just 10 days’ notice and faced a 15-pound weight disadvantage, she managed to go the distance against Martin. The bout helped to raise the profile of women’s boxing and demonstrated the skill and toughness of female fighters on a global stage.
Although Gogarty’s career was filled with obstacles, her impact on women’s boxing has been profound. Her high-profile fight with Martin helped push the sport into the mainstream, and it wasn’t long before legal victories followed. In 1998, Jane Couch won a legal case in the UK that forced the British Boxing Board of Control to issue licences to female fighters.
Similarly, in 2001, Northern Ireland’s Deirdre Nelson won a case against the Boxing Union of Ireland, which ultimately lifted the ban on women’s boxing in Ireland. Although Gogarty missed out on many of the opportunities that later became available to female boxers, her influence is undeniable. She often reflects on how she arrived at a time when the sport wasn’t ready for women to succeed at the highest level. Still, her trailblazing efforts helped pave the way for athletes like Taylor to enjoy the opportunities she never had.
Gogarty became a source of inspiration for a young Katie Taylor, who would go on to become one of the most successful female boxers in history. As a 10-year-old, Taylor wrote to Gogarty, asking for advice on how to overcome the barriers she faced as a young girl who wanted to box. Gogarty encouraged Taylor to persist, reassuring her that hard work and perseverance would eventually break down the barriers that stood in her way.
The young Taylor took these words to heart, and years later, she would be one of the first women to compete in the Olympics, achieving a milestone that was unimaginable in Gogarty’s early career.
Today, efforts are underway to ensure that Gogarty’s contributions to women’s boxing are properly recognized. A campaign to erect a statue in her honour in Drogheda, Ireland, highlights the impact she has had on the sport and on future generations of female fighters. Though her career was marked by struggles and a lack of recognition, Gogarty can take pride in knowing that she helped transform the landscape of women’s boxing.
On Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 12:00pm beside the Scotch Hall in Drogheda, County Louth, Deirdre will be honoured. The unveiling of a statue of her in her hometown will take place. The sculpture, created by the renowned, Laura Dizengremel, commemorates the trailblazing career and her role in breaking barriers for women in boxing.
Deirdre will in attendance to the unveiling of the statue, alongside Mayor Paddy Mc Quillan.
