Beverly Boxing Coach in the Fight of His Life

By BILL FIGEL

For Irishman Martin McGarry the road didn’t always rise up to meet him, rather, crossroads confronted him.

As a 17-year old boxer in Ireland, the crossroads of the mid-1960s included attempts to lure him into an on-going and senseless civil war.

“I could have joined the IRA,” said McGarry.  “Some of these guys thought nothing of putting a bomb in a pub and running off. Boxing kept me out of trouble but I could have ended up in a jail in Northern Ireland.”

A few years back he averted disaster when his doctor pushed a colonoscopy examination and found a whopping cancerous polyp in his colon.

“Dr. (Kevin) Dolehide saved my life,” said McGarry.

In McGarry’s path now is a hereditary disease - familial amyloidosis - that took the life of his mother, two brothers, an uncle and a first cousin. Trips with his wife, Kathy, to Germany and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have given him the fighting chance he’s willing to take on.

That yet another scholarship will be funded and named in McGarry’s honor is testament to his keen ability to sense mine-filled crossroads for others.  When he retired from professional boxing, McGarry devoted his time to coaching.

Famed boxer Muhammed Ali's son-in-law, Mike Joyce, McGarry’s first professional fighter, is establishing the most recent scholarship in the McGarry name through the Celtic Youth Foundation. 

“There’s a lot of very wrong attractions out there for the kids,” said McGarry, still carrying the strong brogue of his youth.  “When they get to that crossroad, they need to know which way to take.”

McGarry’s modesty, complemented by humor, surfaces when asked why the “Coach Martin McGarry Service to Others Scholarship” at St. Barnabas Elementary School will be added to the others, such as those funded by the Pipefitters Union and Mount Carmel High School to name a few.

“I look funny; I talk funny and doggone it, people like me,” said McGarry, channeling his best Stuart Smiley.

People idolize McGarry for the dedication he’s shown to thousands of young people who have learned the Sweet Science in his family’s converted Beverly garage, far from the riff-raff gyms where “rank” carries multiple meanings. Since tricking out his garage in 1995, boxers from Mount Carmel, Brother Rice, Saint Rita and Leo have come to hone their skills.

“Control,” said McGarry in describing his overriding motivation for moving the fight game to his own turf.  “It’s pretty ruthless out there.”

Watching handlers sneak expense money from amateur boxer’s envelopes stirred old emotions in an otherwise Happy Irishman. 

“I told them if I ever see it happen again, ‘I will kick your ass’,” said McGarry, raising his white knuckled fist.

His distaste for boxing leeches, especially those who give young pugilists a false sense of security about their boxing abilities, defined his focus and training approach.

“I used boxing to keep them off the streets, keep them from hanging out in the alley,” said McGarry.  “If you give kids something to strive for and if they work hard at it, they are going to see something in return.”

A young McGarry first stepped through the ropes in his hometown of Aughoose, County Mayo, Ireland under the tutelage of the parish priest, Father Hart.  The reverend’s “give the kids something to do” and “keep their minds occupied” approach drew kids from adjacent parishes. McGarry’s older brothers PJ and John kept Martin’s fuzzy chin regularly peppered.

While escorting his mother to a family wedding in Chicago, Martin met his destiny.

“I met Kathleen and there was no going back to Ireland after that,” said McGarry, who has three daughters, one son and five grandchildren. “Kathy has really seen the big picture for these kids we work with and has never complained about them coming and going to the gym in her backyard.”

If asked about his boxing highlights, McGarry’s slips and bobs while recalling his lasting memories of “meeting Jack Dempsey” in 1970 at his New York restaurant after fighting in a black tie event at the Vanderbilt Hotel, or of “shadowboxing in the same ring with Muhammed Ali.”

“Ali would throw one right over your head to make sure you were still paying attention,” said McGarry.

Thursday, June 26, the Celtic Youth Foundation will host a fundraiser to fund the Martin McGarry scholarship from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 W. 115th St. The event will include food, beverages, live music and a boxing exhibition featuring Nathan “Nate the Nightmare” Tracy, a third-grade student at Mt. Greenwood Elementary School who has trained with Mike Joyce and Martin McGarry. Tickets are $30 for adults; $15 for children under 12. Visit the Celtic Foundation for more information.