THERE was only person on Willie McCartan’s mind as he stood on the Commonwealth Games podium on Saturday night.
The Gilford BC super-heavyweight – who first got into boxing to improve his fitness for Gaelic football with Tullylish – not only forced his way onto the Commonwealth Games team, but brings a bronze medal back from Glasgow.
It means that bit more, too, because before leaving for Scotland, McCartan visited the grave of late mother Maria, who passed away in 2018.
“The morning I got the boat, I was at her grave and I said to her ‘God willing, I’m going to be putting a medal here…’
“I was definitely a bit emotional there when I was telling [Team NI coach] Damian [Kennedy] after I got out of the ring [following his quarter-final win].
“It’s a big achievement for me and my family, Tullylish in general, you get emotional here now, but I’m very, very happy. It would be a nice thing if she was here to see it.”
Maria would be a proud woman to see the man, and the boxer, he has become.
Because, despite still learning his trade, and competing with boxing’s big boys in the super-heavyweight division, McCartan fought through an elbow injury to get the better of Ghana’s Daniel Plange in his last eight clash – guaranteeing a medal.
The 28-year-old would love to have had the opportunity to go a step further, but that niggling injury forced him to withdraw from a scheduled semi-final against England’s eventual champion, Damar Thomas.
“Och, it took me a full day to accept it – I was gutted obviously at the time, but you have to see it for what it is.
“I’m bringing home something anyway, I wouldn’t have been going in there firing on full cylinders… I’m happy enough now. That’s boxing, people get injured, people get sick.
“To be selected was an honour, and to win a medal is in an even bigger one. I was playing football for Tullylish and then I went to Gilford with the intention to get fit for Gaelic and I ended up just liking the boxing better.
“A few years later, here we are – it’s a bit mad. I didn’t think I would get this far.”
Garyn McAllister with the bronze medal won at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. PICTURE: TEAM NI
Garyn McAllister, meanwhile, continued the fine fighting tradition of Sandy Row by bringing Commonwealth bronze back.
Lewis Crocker is a former world welterweight champion while Crocker’s big sister, Alanna, landed bronze in Glasgow 12 years ago. Heavyweight McAllister – at just 21 – showed he has a big future ahead of him, having outclassed Ghana’s Jibril Muntari before losing a close content against Welshman Connor Williams on Friday.
“After the fight, I was a bit fuming with myself.
“Coming here, I wanted a gold medal, but at least I’m going home with something – I’m not going home empty-handed, that’s the main thing. I’d obviously be a lot happier with a gold medal.
“I’m the second youngest on the team, getting myself on the podium, it’s a big achievement.”