Rinty monaghan biography of alberta
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By this time, Monaghan had developed a chronic lung and sinus condition and in April 1950, aged 32, he was forced to renounce his titles and retire undefeated.
A distant era of boxing, showmanship, fearlessness and bravery.
For the rest of his days, Monaghan was philosophical about his lot and said he had no complaints. Trying to cash in on his undoubted popularity as an entertainer - he had always performed his trademark 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling' at the end of his fights - he went on the road as a singer with a small band and even tried to train winning greyhounds.
In the end, although no other boxer ever stripped him of his titles, the taxman relieved him of his remaining money forcing him to work successively as a taxi driver, lorry driver and then a petrol pump attendant to make a living. The 10 foot high bronze statue on a granite plinth was designed by Alan Beattie Herriot and features Monaghan holding a microphone and singing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" <http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/statue-boxing-legend-rinty-monaghan-9893604>
Rinty Monaghan - The Beginning and the End
[from the Appletree Press title Legends of Irish Boxing published by Appletree Press]
John Joseph 'Rinty' Monaghan is the natural starting point when discussing Irish Boxing Legends.
The mantle of undisputed champion of the world rested on his shoulders after his defeat of the tough Scottish fighter Jackie Paterson on 23 March 1948. He also indulged heavily in his passion for snooker, several times reaching the finals of amateur competitions. In October 1947, Rinty won the National Boxing Association - later to become the World Boxing Association (WBA) - flyweight crown.
He died at his home in Little Corporation St in March 1984, at the relatively young age of 65.
To mark the influence of this "home-town hero", the Ulster History Circle and Belfast City Council provided a plaque in his honour at the King's Hall that was unveiled, in the presence of many of his family circle and friends, on May 3, 2007.
Belfast City Council erected a statue to Monaghan at Cathedral Gardens on 20 August 2015.
His nickname "Rinty" came from his fondness for dogs.
Monaghan married Frances Thompson in 1938 and moved to nearby Sailortown.
In later life he had a variety of jobs but remained true to his working-class roots and stayed in Belfast. After a short period of wartime service, Monaghan resumed his career and his burgeoning reputation drew huge crowds from all parts of his home city.
He began his boxing career in Ma Copley's famous boxing booths in Belfast and, unbelievably, had his first paid fight at the age of fourteen in 1934. In later life he had a variety of jobs but remained true to his working-class roots and stayed in Belfast. As a consequence, he took four major titles - British, European, Commonwealth, and World crowns - into his keeping, until chronic bronchitis forced his retirement.
Whatever the truth, his early career was highly successful and he did not suffer a defeat until he was knocked out by Glaswegian Jackie Patterson during his twenty-fifth professional fight in 1938.
Rinty Monaghan's career is epic in its telling. During 1945, Rinty fought on four occasions, his only loss coming to Joe Curran in Liverpool.The King's Hall became his fortress and eventually he scaled the heights to bring a world crown to his native Belfast.
Monaghan later claimed that the clinching factor in his pre-fight preparations had been a diet of goat's milk and raw eggs. As Patterson was carried from the ring, it was besieged by thousands of jubilant supporters and Monaghan later said he had to fight again that night, this time to reach his home through the milling crowds in York and Corporation Streets where celebratory bonfires had been lit.
John Joseph (Rinty) Monaghan (1918 - 1984):
Boxer
"Rinty" Monaghan became the world flyweight boxing champion at the Kings Hall, Belfast in 1948 and retired undefeated in 1950 at the end of a sixteen-year professional boxing career in which he fought sixty-six contests, winning fifty-one, drawing six others and being beaten only nine times.
There are conflicting versions of how he acquired the enduring nickname 'Rinty'; one says it originated in his childhood because of his enthusiasm for Rin Tin Tin', the heroic German Shepherd dog, which starred in a series of popular 1920's movies; another is that it was a tribute to his nifty footwork in the boxing ring.