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At the 2012 Olympic Games, boxing allowed female competitors for the first time. Katie Taylor of Ireland took a gold medal. She was inspired by pioneering Irish boxer and World Champion Deirdre Gogarty. This is the story of how a teenage Gogarty began her fierce ascent when it was still illegal for women to enter the ring.
About Deirdre Gogarty
About Darrelyn Saloom
Deirdre Gogarty was the first Irish woman to become a world featherweight boxing champion in 1997. She put women’s boxing on the map during a televised fight with Christy Martin, watched by an audience of 30 million. Her essay in this issue is from her memoir, My Call to the Ring (Glasnevin, 2012). She works as a graphic artist and coaches amateur and professional boxers in Lafayette, Louisiana.
About Darrelyn Saloom
Darrelyn Saloom has published with Writer’s Digest, Tweetspeak Poetry, and Boxing.com. She co-wrote Deirdre Gogarty’s boxing memoir My Call to the Ring (Glasnevin, 2012), but her pugilistic passions are confined to a keyboard.
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