St Paul’s Boxing Club looking for a new home

St Paul’s Boxing Club in Nenagh have put out an appeal for a new home as their existing tenancy just of Kenyon Street Car Park is coming to an end.

By Thomas Conway

Stephen Hanley, head coach of St. Paul’s Boxing Club says their very existence is now being threatened. For years, Stephen and a group of fellow enthusiasts have worked and strained to provide young boys and girls from across the Nenagh area with the opportunity to box. Their modest premises in an alley of Kenyon Street is almost unnoticeable from the outside, but the interior has all the basic facilities a young boxer might require. Now, a crisis looms.

The club has been told by its tenant that they may no longer be able to rent the property to them. The tenant in question has been good to club over the years, but they are now seeking permission to lease the building to other parties.

It should be noted that no bad blood exists between the tenant and the club. But the future of St. Paul’s is in serious jeopardy. Stephen is worried. The club caters for significant numbers of children and adults, all of whom will lose out should the facility be forced to close.

Established some fifteen years ago, St. Paul’s is the only boxing club in the Nenagh area. Over the years, it has produced up to ten Irish champions, while Stephen estimates that the club has brought home some thirty to forty Munster titles in that time. In other words, it’s punching above its weight.

“We have three classes.

“We have a group of lads that would be boxing in competitions, about 25 to 30 of them,” Hanley reveals.

“Then we have the kids’ class - there’s around 20 to 25 in that. And then we have a fitness class as well, which would have roughly 20 people involved. So, you’re talking up to seventy people who rely on the club, maybe more.”

But it’s also a community asset. Boxing is the ultimate fitness pursuit - it hones all the major muscle groups and often forms a core part of strength and conditioning training for other athletes. Hence the reason that other local sporting teams often take part in sessions with Stephen at the club.

“We had Nenagh Éire Óg here for a couple of weeks of training before the start of their season. They did six to eight weeks with us. We’ve had other local clubs and organisations too. So, it’s a community club,” Hanley reveals.

Ultimately, the problem here is finance. St. Paul’s simply does not have enough money to pay the level of rent being demanded for the premises which they need - through no fault of their own. As Stephen emphasises, it’s a voluntary club, and every cent they take in is paid out either in rent, or for the benefit of the facilities.

“Money is the issue,” Hanley adds.

“Any other place we’ve tried is asking for huge rent, and we can’t afford that. We’re a voluntary club, we’re a non-profit organisation and what we get we pay in rent - that’s where most of the money goes. Some of it is spent on the equipment we need, and boxing equipment is fairly expensive as well - a single boxing bag would be around two to three hundred quid at least. The head guards that the kids are using, they’re 100 quid a pop. Everything is very expensive - gloves, the whole lot.”

For now, St. Paul’s will remain in situ, but its time on Kenyon Street could be coming to an end. Nenagh will lose a vital resource if the club is forced to close. Stephen and Nenagh’s boxing community are praying for a solution.