A very special event is to take place at Scotch Hall  this coming Saturday, the unveiling of a statue to honour the achievements of Ireland's first female World Boxing Champion, Drogheda woman, Deirdre Gogarty. 

The campaign to erect a statue to commemorate Gogarty's trailblazing career and her role in breaking barriers for women in boxing was launched in Drogheda Boxing Club in October 2022.

In 1991 Deirdre Gogarty stepped into a boxing ring at the back of The Shannon Arms in Limerick for an ‘illegal fight’ that would mark the beginning of an incredible fighting career for Deirdre.

She went on to become Ireland’s first female professional boxer and world champion and has been an inspiration for generations of great Irish female boxers including Katie Taylor who used to write to her when she was a young girl with ambitions to be a boxer.

“She was a true pioneer for women in boxing and one of my heroes growing up" Katie said. "She's been a huge support to me over the years and it is women like Deirdre who paved the way for myself and the current generation of female fighters.”

Deirdre reached her dream of becoming world champion by beating Bonnie Canino in Florida on 2nd of March 1997 for the Featherweight world professional title.

Deirdre retired from the ring in 1988 and in 2015 was inducted into the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame.

‘Boxing Bants’ podcaster Ciaran Mc Ivor from Monasterboice thought that Deirdre should be recognised in her home town so he established a committee to fundraise for a statue of Deirdre to be erected in Drogheda where her story began.

Speaking in 2022 about the possibility of a statue in her honour being erected in her home town Deirdre Gogarty said:

“I cannot begin to express how thrilled I am about the potential of a statue in the place where my journey began! In my days as a young woman, cycling through Drogheda on my way to the boxing club, I had such big dreams and ambitions.

“It was a very exciting time, but unfortunately my future as a boxer looked very bleak, with door after door slammed shut against women’s boxing in 1988.

“When Drogheda put up the statue of Tony “Socks” Byrne, I was in awe. I wanted to accomplish great things like Byrne’s Olympic medal, but women were not allowed box amateur, or in the Olympics back then, which was hugely frustrating.

“I made the difficult decision to leave Drogheda, turn professional, and move to the United States. Eventually, I fulfilled my dream of winning a world title, just like my idol Barry McGuigan. However, it would’ve been in vain if I weren’t able to break down barriers for other female boxers.

So, in the same way that I was inspired by Byrne’s statue, I hope that my statue will remind others that the most important factor in pursuing a dream is, persistence is everything!”

This will be Europe’s first life-size sculpture of a woman boxer, it was sculpted by Laury Dizengremel who also created the neighbouring statues outside Scotch Hall of Tony Byrne and Joey Maher. 

The Deirdre Gogary Legacy Committee is inviting members of the public to the unveiling of the Deirdre Gogarty statue which will take place at midday on this coming Saturday at Scotch Hall. Deirdre Gogarty herself will unveil the statue, alongside Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr. Paddy Mc Quillan.