CHAIRMAN of the Mike McTigue Memorial Group Nicholas Rynne is a grand-nephew of the world champion and said he was aware of the fighter from a fairly young age.
“There used to be a picture of him in the old Flan’s bar in Ennis, my father would often be asked about him as well.
“We became more aware after the book about him came out, A Bloody Canvas: The Mike McTigue Story, written by Andrew Gallimore. We started to get more inquisitive as we grew up,” said Nicholas.
There is a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the memorial to McTigue. The GoFundMe has a target of raising €20,000 and will be the main source of funding, with one or two other local fundraisers set to take place also.
On the idea for the memorial, he said, “Kevin Rynne and myself were talking about three years ago and we decided that we should do something for the centenary of the fight.
“Then we invited Michael McTigue and Antoinette McCormack, who is my cousin, onto the committee. Clare Colleran Molloy has been helping us as well.”
As well as honouring a local hero, it will add something to Kilnamona, he believes.
“There are two reasons for doing it, one is to honour him, he was a great man having won a world title. The other is to give a focal point at Kilnamona Cross, the village is slightly off the road so it’ll give it a focal point as the gateway to North Clare. It’ll help to showcase Kilnamona.”
Donations in support of the memorial can be made online here
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.