Donaghy: backbone of Brum fight scene

George Donaghy…old school boxing tactician

ONE of the true stalwarts of Birmingham boxing – and a driving force behind the ring success enjoyed by the city’s Irish community - has died.

George Donaghy, a respected trainer in the 1980s and ‘90s, passed away at Edgbaston’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday, May 14. He was 92.

He had lived at his Kingshurst home until the end.

He is survived by daughters Georgina and Nora and son George. His wife Annie passed in 2019.

Back in the day, George was an ever present in the Birmingham sport. The fighters he helped reads like a who’s who of the game 40 and 50 years ago. He was renowned for his padwork.

Those he worked with included Des Gwilliam, the Murray brothers, the McEwan brothers, Johnny Burns, Paddy Finn, Phil Sheridan, Hughie Johnson, Jarvis Greenidge…

The names may mean little to today’s fans, but they were the bedrock of pro boxing in our city – and mighty fine fighters.

George, who began his career as a trainer at Sheldon Heath ABC, guided tough middleweight Willie Wright and heavyweight Al Malcolm to Midlands titles.

Willie credits the man with teaching him the sport’s sweet science. He transformed a brawler into an adept master of in-fighting.

“He had a charisma about him,” said Willie. “I owe everything to George and thought the world of him.

“I remember him telling me, ‘the way you’re fighting, you won’t be around for long – you can’t go in fighting head first’. It was all big swings. He had me bobbing, weaving, turning. There was one fight where it all fell into place and, honestly, I came home without a mark on me. Penny (Willie’s wife) didn’t believe I’d had a fight.

“I fought at the Elephant and Castle (London) and on the way home I told George, ‘I’ve left my gold chain’. It was past midnight and he turned the car round and got it.”

Willie added: “He was a genius on the pads, no one could touch him.”

George’s son, Catholic priest Father George Donaghy said: “He was just everything you wanted a dad to be. He was a larger than life character, he came from very humble beginnings and strove to ensure his three children could be everything they wanted to be.

“He had a rudimentary education – he left school at 14 – but had a natural teaching ability. He taught his children to swim and his grandchildren.

“He liked a Sunday lunchtime pint, but smoking was never good for him. In the mid ‘70s, he had a problem with his breathing and the doctor said he had to give up the smoking.

“In 1976, he stopped the fags and concentrated on the boxing. I was in the gym from the age of eight or nine, but I never got registered. He felt I needed to be better than I was, which was true.”