American boxer Seanie Monaghan has Meath connections and was a surprise visitor to Navan Boxing Club last week where he met local enthusiasts and promising young boxer Christopher Blaney. Included (from left) were: Neil Blaney, Seanie Monaghan, Christopher Blaney and George Gibney.

Fairytale of New York for boxer with Navan links

Published: Wed 18 Aug 2010, 4:57 PM

With an accent that was as much a part of New York as Central Park, Fifth Avenue or the Brooklyn Bridge, Seanie Monaghan paid a visit to the Navan Boxing Club last week to meet some old acquaintances and make new friends. Monaghan was in town, along with his wife Beverly who is from Puerto Rico. Monaghan was on a short visit to Ireland and a large contingent of his relatives showed up at the CYWS Hall in what turned out to be an extended family gathering. The 28-year-old who has lived all his life in New York only became a professional boxer in April after coming to the sport relatively late. He did well in the New York Golden Gloves, making it to the final at the famous Madison Square Garden venue before deciding to join the pro ranks. He lost the final on points. So far he has fought two professional bouts in the light heavyweight division despatching each of his opponents in the opening rounds. He knocked out Dennis Peleton after one minute, 19 seconds in a bout in the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City earlier this summer. He also despatched another opponent early on in a fight in the Capitale, in Lower Manhattan in late May. Also on that Manhattan bill was the US-based Zambian welterweight Hastings 'the Sting' Bwalya who sparred with world welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. Other boxers on the Capitale bill included former US amateur champion Shannon 'The Cannon' Briggs who took on Dominque 'Diamond' Alexander in a heavyweight encounter. Monaghan, who is a bricklayer, has two more fights lined up later in the autumn as he continues his quest to become established in one of the cruelest and most demanding of sports. Among those who Monaghan met at the CYWS last week was Christopher Blaney, the highly-regarded young Wilkinstown pugilist who is no stranger to success on the domestic and international fronts. Sean Monaghan's father Davy is originally from the Circular Road area of Navan and he joined the thousands of Irish who emigrated to the Big Apple in search of work and a new life in the early 1980s. He found a job, settled down and had a family. Davy now owns an upholstry retail outlet on Long Island. Among those who joined Sean Monaghan in New York was his uncle, Davy's brother Vincent. He has since returned to Ireland and is now back living in Navan. He was also at the impromptu family reunion at the Navan Boxing Club as was Seanie's cousin Mark. Seanie Monaghan explained how he only started boxing competitively at 26 and more by accident than design. He took to the sport immediately. It also helped him find a more fulfilling path. "I only had about 15 amateur fights, but I was knocking everyone out. As I got towards the end of the tournament I would lose on a points system. If I don't knock a guy out then I can get out-pointed," he told the Meath Chronicle. "I came over here to see my relatives, my father grew up right across there on the Fairgreen, they knocked it down, but he was from right across there. We grew up in Long Beach, Long Island." "I was getting into a lot of trouble street fighting and a friend of mine said, 'Listen man if you want to stay out of trouble why don't you start boxing?' So I started boxing and started to do well right away. I got married to a great girl and I'm staying out of trouble now," he added. Monaghan wears a tattoo that reminds him of how life could have worked out differently. "My best friend, Bobby, I think about him every day. He got murdered in Long Beach, he was shot. "I got a tattoo of his name on my chest and every time I fight, I do that (punches his chest) to think about him. I don't drink, I don't smoke I don't do anything like that, I don't go out to bars. I get a good workout, go home and hang out with my wife and friends, that's it." Monaghan says that he was delighted to meet all his Irish relatives and friends. "The last time I was in Ireland was 16 years ago and as you can see I've got a lot of relatives in Ireland." Monaghan was flying back to the Big Apple the next day. Back to the arduous task of following his dream as a professional boxer.