MOMENTS after Kellie Harrington took another leap towards an Olympic gold medal, there was one woman in particular she wanted to thank.
While the ‘mammy’ of Irish women’s boxing was unable to be there by her side, Anna Moore has left a major mark on the sporting lives of Ms Harrington and other female boxers.
Usually the one doing a mountain of work behind the scenes, Ms Moore is in the spotlight after Ms Harrington gave her a shoutout on TV in the early hours of this morning following her semi-final bout.
“Just to give a shoutout to Anna Moore, she’s one of the mammies of Irish women’s boxing, she’s been there from the start, and she’s always sending her love to everybody, so I want to shout out to Anna Moore,” said Ms Harrington.
Ms Moore says she cried when she heard the kind words.
“I do love Kellie, and I love all the girls… they’ll always be my girls,” Ms Moore told RTÉ’s Liveline.
“To think that she thought, after coming out of that contest, that she thought enough of me...
“It was like I was a celebrity, which I’m not. I’m just an ordinary person.”
But Ms Moore is extraordinary. She has played a key role in bringing women’s boxing in Ireland to the fore.
While she never boxed herself, her husband’s and son’s interest in the sport led her to helping out and making tea in her local St Francis Boxing Club in Limerick.
Ms Moore quickly became more and more involved, coaching and judging competitions, and when women were finally allowed to take up the sport, she agreed to come on board as a manager.
She has managed the Irish women's boxing team at the World Elite Championships in recent years, been a member of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women’s Commission, and was the Munster recipient of the IABA Outstanding Services to Boxing Award at the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) annual awards in 2019.
Irish women’s boxing is truly on the map, and Ms Moore has travelled all over the world with her girls, including to the London and Rio Olympics.
She says they are “like a family”.
“When I go away with the boxers, they’re my family, I have to look after them to the best of my ability and that’s what I try to do,” she said.
“You see those girls, I’ve been with them, not just Kellie but all of them. They’ve come up through the ranks and I’ve watched them, and I’ve seen them improve, and I’ve seen them progress. I’ve seen them leave as well and I’m sad to see some of them leave, but they’ll always be my girls, always.
“I’m always there for them. If they lose I console them, and I’m there to hug them if they win. You put your arms around them and just let them cry, or whatever they want to do. When they win it’s with joy – I’d be crying myself with joy.”
The ‘mammy of Irish women’s boxing’ had to stay at home for this year’s Olympics, but she has still been doing her bit, praying for a favourable outcome.
“I went to mass this morning to thank God, because I had asked him yesterday to make sure Kellie won, so I went up to thank him and give him a few bob,” she said.
From the moment she met Ms Harrington at weigh-ins when she was just starting out, Ms Moore said she knew she was special.
“It was just something about Kellie, there was always something about Kellie, she holds a very special place in my heart,” she said.
“She is so modest. Kellie Harrington never thinks of herself, she thinks of everybody else before she thinks of herself. Everybody in boxing, everybody that knows Kellie will tell you the very same thing, she’s very humble. But she is a brilliant boxer.”
Ms Moore said her “stomach will be in knots” watching the Olympic final from home on Sunday morning, and she’ll be sure to have a brandy at the ready regardless of the outcome.
“I just want to tell Kellie that I love her so much, but she knows that, and all the girls know that,” she said.
“I do love Kellie and I love all the girls. I want to tell Kellie go into the ring, enjoy it, because this is the final of the Olympics, and I know she’s going to come out with a gold medal. And if she doesn’t, she’s still our hero and she’s still our champion.”
