Ireland swells with pride after Katie Taylor wins women's boxing gold medal

7 hours ago

Ireland's Katie Taylor celebrates winning gold in the Women's Light (60kg) Boxing final. (Getty Images)LONDON – They came from Cork and Kerry. They flew in from Dublin and brought their daughter from across town. They came for a 5-foot-5, 132-pound woman whose hands deliver hammer swings, happiness, and hope.

They came because Katie Taylor – Ireland's Katie Taylor – was boxing for the gold medal.

They came because this might be the most perfect Irish story ever, and the Irish love stories. The humble kid, mesmerized by her father shadow boxing in their kitchen along the Irish coast, winds up trained by dad in a sport few believed should even be allowed – a girl fight? She turns into the four-time world champion, humble, hard-working, and wrapped, literally, in religion: "The Lord is my Savior and my shield," her robe reads.

"She's an everybody," said 17-year-old Aifric Norton, who flew here with her older brother Aonghus.

They came because, back home, the recession drags on and drags down. And when Katie Taylor hits someone in the mouth it feels, even for a brief moment, like Ireland, too, can hit back.

[ Related: U.S. teen boxer makes history ]

"Everybody forgets about the recession when she fights," said Con McDonnell, who flew in with three buddies all wearing "Katie Taylor Made for Gold" T-shirts.

They came because they were the lucky ones who got tickets. "Half of Ireland is here," marveled Barry McGuigan, the old Irish champion. Others just came over to hang around outside the ExCeL Center, stuffing the bars and restaurants in what was once a slum of East London. "There's 1,500 paddies down the road in the pubs," said Graham Regan, noting he knows because that's where he watched Taylor's semifinal victory on Wednesday.

They came because they know back in Taylor's hometown of Bray, in County Wicklow, there were 10,000 people gathered outside to watch on a giant screen. They had to move the viewing to a bigger spot because 6,000 showed up for the semifinal and the town square couldn't hold them all. Across the nation, everyone else just crowded into pubs and living rooms. Many bosses in the city centers of Dublin and Galway just let workers go early rather than pretend they wouldn't sneak off anyway. "The country will stop today," said fan Tony Barrett.

They came because coming had developed into a movement. Each Taylor fight during these Olympics saw the 10,000-seat venue filled with green shirts and homemade signs and Tricolour flags. For the finale, the venue manager estimated 8,000 Irish were in attendance, even with a Brit fighting for gold in a different weight class.

Oh, and the building filled with noise. Lots and lots of noise. Unbelievable amounts of noise. The fans, often these burly men, would sing soccer songs and chant "I-er-LAND, I-er-LAND" and "KAY-t, KAY-t." Louder and louder. This was the wildest scene of the Games, electric and exciting. The International Olympic Committee measured the noise at every session of the Olympics, and nothing matched the decibels of the introduction for a Katie Taylor fight. The second-loudest event was the final seconds of a thrilling Great Britain cycling victory at the Velodrome.

Here, in London, as sure as Katie's fists would be felt, Ireland would be heard.

[ Video: Worst U.S. men's boxing showing ever ]

They came because of Katie. In a nation of writers, they couldn't dream her up. Every possible positive attribute the Irish want to see in themselves, she delivered. "Talented, modest, unaffected, lovely," the Irish Times wrote. Throw in tough, religious, hard-working, humble, and loyal. "Warrior Hero," the Irish Independent dubbed her.

The most popular athlete in Ireland is female. Where else is that true? Where else could that be true? And it's real, with men, grown men, old and young, coming because of what she can do in the field of competition. There was no stigma. This was boxing. Not women's boxing. Twenty years ago to the day, Michael Carruth – also coached by his father – won gold in Barcelona, making him a forever legend. His gold wasn't any bigger than Taylor's.

The nation's male boxers were contending for medals also. Ireland should win three overall, a great haul for them. None of them are as popular. No one comes close. The men say they aren't even bitter. They love Katie, too. "It's great, I know how hard she trains," said fighter Paddy Barnes, still in the men's semifinals. "It goes to show you, equal rights."

"We are here together as a team," Katie Taylor said. "I watched Paddy fight [Wednesday]. Really unbelievable."

So, yes, she may be a woman, but did you see that combination?

Katie Taylor celebrates gold (AP)

They came with young girls at their side and on their laps. Daughters and granddaughters, nieces and cousins, some just three and four years old.

All these little girls, faces painted, in awe of Katie, in awe of the reaction Katie has produced, in awe of a woman fighter who carries herself with unrelenting pride at competing in a nonfeminine pursuit. I am, she seems to be saying, who I am. From a nation with a difficult history on equality, here was something special.

"That she is female and not male," said 12-year-old Millie Regan, Graham's daughter, "means that we are equal."

They came because so many of them understand equality isn't an obligation but a strength. These aren't the old days. If Ireland is going to get out of its economic plight, out of the banking crisis and real estate collapse, it will need the energy, the talent and, indeed, the fight of all its citizens.

They came because in a nation that has so often intertwined its self-worth with sporting success, Katie Taylor represented something a bit new. Ireland is always the underdog, this rural island home to so much heartbreak. Its success stories are so often about pluck and luck and digging deep. Katie has that, too, of course. All champions do. She also has a killer cross that will flatten you, and she's had it for years. She's claimed four consecutive world championships and five European titles.

Katie Taylor gave Ireland a new feeling, a confidence bordering on cocky. Watch her dominate. Watch her overwhelm. She always wins. The old familiar hope of an upstart was replaced by the powerful sense of strength that comes from cheering on the favorite. This here was proof of Irish might, of Irish fight. No apologies, she's the best.