Back with a bang
Westport’s Finbarr Eade is ready for his pro debut 
Feature
Daniel Carey FINBARR Eade will make history when he steps into the ring at the ‘Wild Wild West’ boxing event in the Royal Theatre and Events Centre, Castlebar on Saturday, May 23.
Eade is believed to be the first professional boxer in Westport’s history, and will make his debut in one of seven professional fights scheduled for the TF. He will be joined on the bill by John Waldron from Ballyhaunis, Colm Keane from Connemara and undefeated cruiserweight Ian Timms, while Michael Sweeney from Ballinrobe is also expected to be in action on the night.
It’s the fulfilment of a long-standing ambition for Eade, who has won three Irish amateur titles. He had been ‘out of the ring for a good few years’ when he got a call last July from Phil Sutcliffe, a trainer he has worked with since he was ‘a kid’. Sutcliffe has teamed up with promoter Don O’Leary to create Dolphil Promotions, and was anxious to add the Westport man to his growing stable of boxers.
“Phil gave me a call and said ‘think about it’, and I just said I’d do a bit of training,” Eade told The Mayo News. “I got into training slowly last July, and built it up from there. I just started sparring, then the spars started going well – I hadn’t lost it, so I was happy enough. And now, I’m nearly back to top form.”
Eade has been in boxing his whole life. His father, Pat, is the main man behind Eagle Boxing Club in The Quay in Westport, and even when he went travelling abroad, Finbarr found himself in pro gyms in Australia, training and sparring.
After he returned home, it took him a while to get involved in the sport again because, as he puts it, ‘in the back of my mind, I didn’t want to be a trainer; I wanted to be a fighter’. But he began coaching, and saw Niall Keogh, John Joyce and Cathal O’Connor represent the club in finals, with Keogh winning.
He began ‘doing a bit’ himself, working away on punch-bags, and it was ‘always in the back of my mind to come back’. When the opportunity presented itself last summer, Eade decided to ‘give it a go’.
He’s worked hard in the last few months. His day begins with a five and a half mile run. Then he goes to the day job (as a painter/decorator). In the evening, it’s back to the Eagle gym for a two and a half hour training session. At the weekends, he heads to Crumlin in Dublin, and packs in as many rounds as he can.
It was ‘tough’ coming back, he admits, but he’s had great help from physio Kevin Cusack, Patrick Joyce (who’s done pad work with him), his dad, Pat, as well as trainers, Sutcliffe and Joe Clifford and promoter O’Leary. He’s eating well, his weight is ‘bang on’, he’s ‘dying to get back’ in the ring for real, and he’s hoping that the positive local response he’s received will translate into a good crowd in Castlebar.
At 33, he’s no spring chicken. But there have many successful professional boxers who have fought well into their 40s, and he’s happy with his recent progress. He’s not making any promises, just ‘taking it fight by fight’, and is anxious to get a good performance under his belt.
“I wouldn’t be going in if I didn’t think I’d be able for it,” Eade explains. “I’ve been sparring with Thomas Blaney, who won his senior international against Scotland; Paddy Ward, who won two against Scotland recently; I’ve been in with Philip Sutcliffe, who knocked out John Joe Joyce in the senior finals, and Willie Casey, a very tough, strong, big puncher from Limerick, who’s on the bill as well. They’re testing me, and I’m well able to hold my own. And hopefully there’s more to come.”
Tickets for the ‘Wild Wild West’ event are available from: Toby’s Bar, Walsh’s Bar, The Asgard and The Helm, Westport; Finbar Eade (087 6140981), Eagle Boxing Club Gym (Monday-Friday after 7pm); Royal Theatre and Events Centre Box Office, Castlebar (0818 300 000) and from Ticketmaster.
