Eamonn Magee grew up in Ardoyne during the height of the troubles. He was the youngest of 4 boys who would all find their safe place in Sacred Heart ABC. Eamonn was a real talent as an amateur winning 10 Irish titles as well as multiple multi-nation gold medals. He also claimed a silver medal at the World junior championships in Puerto Rico, 1989. Eamonn talks about his disappointment at missing out on the Barcelona Olympics and how he began to go off the rails with drink. Eamonn talks about being shot in the leg by the IRA and how he would win his 2nd Irish senior title just weeks afterwards. We then discuss his professional career which included a Commonwealth title and 5 defences against quality fighters such as Shea Neary, Jon Thaxton and Paul Burke. He would go on to challenge for his first world title in Manchester back in 2002 against the rising star of British boxing, Ricky Hatton. He would be the first man to floor Hatton and push him all the way in a close decision defeat. Eamonn talks about bouncing back to achieve his dream when winning the WBU world title in Cardiff in 2003. Weeks later he would become the victim of an attack when he was beaten with baseball bats and would be left with horrific injuries and face over a year out of the ring. We also discuss the end of his boxing career, moving into coaching with John Breen and having great success during this time as a team. In recent years, there have been very dark times with the awful murder of his son, Eamonn Jr in 2015. His battles with addiction have also followed Eamonn throughout his life. Back in 2018 his book ‘The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee’ would become a huge success winning multiple awards. Eamonn talks about plans for a documentary and movie in the future. Hopefully there will be many more chapters to his story.
