Meanwhile in an English tavern a wealthy Irish nobleman called Captain William Kelly, overheard English pugilists talking with affiliates of what was known as ‘The Fancy’ (affluent dandies who supported and sponsored boxing during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Kelly was horrified to hear them poking fun at Mother Ireland and her brave children, stating there was not a courageous man amongst them. They also said that they had gone to Ireland and issued open challenges to the best pugilists there, but no one accepted. What would one expect from a nation of conquered cowards?
Furious at the slander of his native land, Kelly was determined to find a fighting Irishman to take up the challenge. His search eventually took him to Dublin and to Dan Donnelly. Kelly went with his friend Robert Barclay Allardice, a Scotsman, who had heard of this fine young fighter. Allardice was better known as Captain Barclay. He was a renowned long-distance walker and trained many great pugilists. They were told that their man would not come easy as he was very much against the idea of fighting. When they arrived in Dublin they did not have much trouble finding their quarry at the carpenter’s yard. But as expected, Dan Donnelly was not interested in fighting. He apologised to the two men for wasting their time and explained that he was a man of peace. But Kelly did not wish to return to England without a fighter who would prove those English dandies wrong. He tried to win Donnelly over by telling him how he would follow in the footsteps of Ireland’s great warriors and mythical heroes such as Cuchulainn and Finn McCool. He told him of the epic battles and conquests that ancient Ireland was so famous for and now through Dan they could bring back this sense of pride and deference that had been lost by the Irish people after so many years of oppression. Kelly told Dan that he would bring fire back into the bellies of the Irish people and there was also a fair few bob to be made out it too. Dan was silent and then told Kelly he would think about it for a while.
He came back with: ‘Gentlemen, I shall first return to you my sincere thanks for the great dependence you have on my country. The honour you have bestowed on me shall ever be cherished in my bosom. To appear before a multitude of spectators on a plain is wholly against my will, yet my country claims my support.’ Dan then clenched his fists and raised his right arm, quivering with the passion of a man about to go into battle and he made this oath: ‘I owe no spleen to Great Britain, but the man of any nation who presumes to offer insult to my country, this arm, while my life blood flows, shall defy.’
Kelly and Captain Barclay were impressed with the fine and noble answer that Donnelly gave them. They promised to train him and give him the best advice and expertise at their disposal. While training under Barclay, Donnelly earned his keep by looking after the cows at Calverstown Demense in Kildare. (Donnelly’s initials were supposed to have been carved on the rafters at Calverstown House, but there is no sign of them now.)
Dan was to have his first major fight under the patronage of the eccentric Captain Kelly in the Curragh of Kildare. The bout took place on 14 September 1814 in a natural amphitheatre called Belcher’s Hollow. Dan was up against a well-known English prize-fighter at the time, Tom Hall, who had been touring the country, teaching and demonstrating the art of boxing. By 1 o’clock there were thousands of people milling around the hollow, which had been roped off.
The art of boxing was very different to what it is now, with no real regard for the safety and wellbeing of the fighters. Fights would carry on until one of or both of the opponents were too weary and injured to continue. There were no rules against dirty tactics and just about anything went in regards to bringing the other man down. Fighters were allowed to jump on each other, bang their opponent’s heads off the hard wooden corner posts, hold each other in headlocks, pull hair, ears, noses, etc. It was a vicious and unforgiving sport, and was more like a form of street fighting. The only redeeming thing about it was, unlike today where you have a ten-second countdown, then you were allowed thirty seconds but once they were up, you were out.
For the first part of the fight between Hall and Donnelly, Hall proved to be the stronger opponent and he drew first blood. This was very significant, as bets were made on the basis of who would draw first blood in a bare-knuckle fight. What Hall did not know was that Dan was utilising his trademark tactic of lulling his opponent into a false sense of security and wearing him out at the same time. When Hall realised this and became aware of Donnelly’s awesome strength and stamina he began to use a tactic of his own. Every time Donnelly went to deliver a killer blow Hall would drop down on one knee. This would allow him a thirty-second rest. Dan became very aggravated with this cowardly tactic and when Hall went down yet again on one knee, Dan lashed out and caught him on the ear. There was a gush of blood and Hall stated that Donnelly had cheated and should be disqualified. But the onlookers disagreed with Hall. Hall refused to fight on, saying that Donnelly had fouled him but Donnelly was declared the victor. The fight ended in some controversy, but to the Irish people, he was the champion.
After this victory ‘Belcher’s Hollow’ was re-named ‘Donnelly’s Hollow’. Dan became an Irish champion in having done what so many other Irishmen before him had failed to do: ‘stick it to the English oppressors’ and live to tell the tale.
After this fight, Dan, fuelled by the admiration and loyalty of his fans, was full of confidence. So sure was he of his fighting ability that he stopped sticking to the strict training programme that Captain Barclay had laid out for him. In fact, he put his time and effort into a completely different activity; enjoying the high life. Dan was to be found in every bar, tavern and inn, being bought drinks and treated like a true superstar. What young man would not love this?
In an effort to curb Dab’s drinking, Kelly and Barclay set up a wide circle of spies to keep track on Dan and keep him away from the taverns and bars. Dan eventually realised that Kelly and Barclay had his best interests at heart, so he complied with their regime. He knew, deep down, that the invaders loved to see an Irishman drunk, for that was a great and effortless way to keep him in his place, unable to think or fight for himself. He therefore returned to Dublin where he was greeted with more jubilation. After this Dan went back to work at the carpenters’ workshop and resumed some sort of normality.
Dan’s reputation as a fighter was to be immortalised in the summer of 1815. That same year Ireland was in a terrible state of affairs and powerless in the face of the mighty British Empire. Britain’s navy was the most powerful in the world and its empire was growing stronger and greater by the day. The Duke of Wellington had recently conquered Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo and Ireland was seen as an embarrassment and a nuisance, a blemish on the well-polished crown of mad old King George III. In fact, Arthur Wellesley, better known as the 1st Duke of Wellington or the Iron Duke, was born in 6 Merrion Street, Dublin in 1769. It was a common occurrence that he would receive jibes and dubious enquiries regarding his Irish birthplace. He would always reply, ‘Being born in a stable does not make one a horse’.
It was going to take something or someone spectacular to raise the profile of Ireland and her people. Dan was the man for the job. Dan was their only chance to maintain some respect and dignity. The perfect opportunity for Dan to help his beloved Ireland rise from the ashes of oppression was about to come knocking at his door.
While Dan was working at the carpenters’ workshop in Dublin he got word that two men wished to meet him in a local tavern. Something in Dan’s bones told him that this was going to be significant, so he agreed.
He went to the tavern and ordered himself a drink; not long after, two unusual-looking men arrived to meet him. One of the men was an African-American who introduced himself as Tom Molineaux. He introduced his comrade as George Cooper. Molineaux explained to Donnelly that they were in Ireland together on an exhibition tour, teaching the art of boxing. Molineaux went on to inform Donnelly that they had been told by a reliable source that he was the best boxer in Ireland and that he would like to challenge him. Donnelly did not answer stra
ight away and he took time to think about the offer. It was a great honour to be sought out by such great fighting men, but Donnelly did not see much of a challenge in Molineaux as he had already been beaten by Cooper. Donnelly told him he did not wish to fight a conquered man but he was willing to challenge Cooper if he was up for it. Molineaux was angered by this dismissive answer and began to insult Donnelly, calling him all sorts of terrible names. Cooper intervened to calm his comrade and happily agreed to Donnelly’s challenge by shaking his hand. Sadly, Molineaux fell into a deep decline after this; he felt that a fight with Donnelly would have helped his profile – which was far from impressive. He had already been beaten by Tom Cribb for the English title and then defeated at the hands of Cooper. Molineaux already had a serious drink problem and the demons of his time as a slave on a Virginia Plantation, combined with defeat and rejection, proved to be too much. He fell ill while touring the west of Ireland in 1818 and died from liver failure at 34 years of age.
Dan’s supporters were delighted to hear that he was going into the ring with Cooper. A native of Stone in Staffordshire, Cooper was a formidable fighter with a fierce reputation and was fondly known amongst the Fancy as ‘The Bargeman’, because he worked as a labourer on the canal barges. He was of gypsy origin and was rated as one of the greatest prizefighters of his time. Cooper would punch hard and fast with both fists and he was renowned for his ‘one-two’ technique, as well as being an expert at blocking and countering punches. Bill Richmond, an African-American pugilist who settled in England, said he was, ‘the best natural fighter I have ever worked with’. The one thing that stood against Cooper as a fighter was his contempt for training. Then again, Donnelly was not overly enthusiastic about training either. He claimed he was doing well by limiting himself to just twenty-five glasses of whiskey a day in preparation for a fight. Although this was a far-fetched boast, Donnelly did prefer the taverns to the training ground. Kelly and Barclay made sure that Dan was kept on close watch and made sure he trained well. And Donnelly always complied in the end, for he knew that it was all for the greater good and he was determined to beat Cooper.
The fight was to take place on 13 December 1815 at the now newly christened Donnelly’s Hollow at the Curragh of Kildare, the same place where Dan had beaten Hall. On the day of the fight there was an estimated 20,000 people from all over the country gathered to witness this historic event. The air was filled with excitement and fervour as bets were placed and Cooper was the favourite to win with odds of 10 to 1. It seemed that the Curragh of Kildare was the only place to be.
But George Cooper did not hold the same enthusiasm for the day. Not only was he made to feel unwelcome by the baying crowd but he was bamboozled by the organisers. Cooper had originally been told that the winner received £100 and the looser £20, but not enough cash was raised and now the victor would only receive £60 and the looser nothing at all. Cooper stated that he would not go through with the fight and sat for an hour while the organisers discussed the matter with him. There was a fear of a riot breaking out if the fight was cancelled and when Cooper realised he was up against 20,000 furious Irish people on their own turf, he thought it wiser to just fight the one man as originally intended and the bout went ahead.
Cooper arrived in the ring to polite applause but when Sir Dan made his appearance the roar and applause from the throngs of people could be heard for miles around.
The fight began with some basic sparring and then Donnelly landed the first punch to Cooper’s neck. This was greeted by great cheers from the crowd. In retaliation Cooper applied what was known as ‘the cross-buttock move’. This was a wrestling tactic and involved getting in front of Dan, throwing him over his hip and sending him crashing to the ground, winding him severely.
By the fifth round Dan was looking like he was going to lose. However, it was at this point that ‘Miss Kelly’, Captain Kelly’s sister, intervened. She told him that she had put her entire fortune on the fight and would be left penniless and destitute if he lost. This appealed to Dan’s chivalrous nature and he found the strength to carry on. It was also said that Miss Kelly slipped him a piece of sugar cane to replenish his strength. As she did this she was supposed to have uttered these words: ‘Now my charmer, give him a warmer!’ After this, the waning Dan revamped his mettle and the fight started to go in his favour.
By the seventh round Dan was fighting well and landed Cooper on the ground with an unmerciful jab. He then jumped on his chest, winding the poor English fighter beyond what seemed like any possible recovery. But Cooper did come back; he was a beast of a man and seemed truly unbeatable. But in the eleventh round, after twenty-two minutes of ferocious battling, Donnelly broke Cooper’s jaw with a powerful punch and took him out. The fight was declared finished and Dan declared the overall champion. The cheers from the crowd could be heard for miles around as the people hailed the ‘King of the Curragh’.
After the fight Dan marched up the hill to his carriage, some of the ecstatic fans ran behind him and dug with their bare hand at the footprints he left in his wake. The footprints are still there today, leading from the monument erected in his honour at Donnelly’s Hollow, and are known as ‘The Steps to Strength and Fame’. People regularly visit the site and can walk in the footsteps of Dan Donnelly.
Once Dan was in his carriage he ordered the driver to take him straight home to Dublin and not to hang around for the celebrations in Kildare. This was because he had squandered all his winnings after the last fight, and it had left him penniless. But when he arrived in Dublin there was a huge welcome for him. He was taken around the taverns of Dublin to celebrate his victory. The most outstanding part of these celebrations lay with his mother. As Donnelly was carried through the streets of Dublin on the shoulders of his adoring fans, his mother led the procession with one of her breasts bared. She slapped it and exclaimed, ‘There’s the breast that suckled him; there’s the breast that suckled him!’
After the fight, Dan’s winnings of £60 only lasted five weeks. He realised that he needed steady work, as fighting was an unpredictable and dangerous way to earn a crust and popularity did not keep food on the table.
Dan was offered a very attractive career as a publican by a wealthy timber merchant, more than likely his boss at Connery’s timber yard. Although there were many pubs in Dublin it seemed like a good business move to have a famous sportsman as the landlord. Dan’s tavern was on Poolbeg Street, near Townsend Street where he grew up. The bar was so busy that the staff had no time for breaks in the first three months of it opening. Dan married the girl that he had been courting for a long while and she helped run the bar, while his mother took care of the kitchen. As far as getting back into the ring was concerned, Donnelly vehemently declared that he had no interest at all, for now his place was as a good husband and businessman. However, Donnelly’s heavy drinking and constant disappearance started to take their toll. He was squandering money and when he was not present, the punters who came to see him went to the other bars which he frequented, taking their business with them. Dan’s poor wife and mother were left to run the show and they were too busy and physically incapable of stopping non-payers and troublemakers. The business suffered and it was not long before it fell away and Dan was left in debt and despair. The only way out was to return to the ring.
However, Dan’s reputation as a fierce fighter frightened potential English contenders from coming over to Ireland to fight him and Cooper stated that an English fighter would be made to feel very unwelcome by the Irish mob. He assured them that they would do all in their power to make sure that their man won. This meant that Dan would have to go over to England to fight, which was something that he did not want to do.
He made a few more failed attempts to run bars, but all he did was run up more debt. In the end he succumbed and went to England for fight his third and final fight on 21 July 1819. He defeated Tom Oliver in thirty-four rounds on English turf, at Crawley Down in Sussex. After this final victory Dan stayed on in Engl
and, spending all but £20 of his winnings. As he left to return to Dublin he was stopped by a bailiff and handed a writ for £18, for money he owed to Jack Carter, an old sparring partner. He left with just £2 to his name.
There is a famous story of how Dan almost became a knight. After his win against Crawley, he met with Prince Regent, later to become King George IV. When introduced, the Prince stated, ‘I am glad to meet the best fighting man in Ireland’. Dan replied, ‘I am not that your Royal Highness but I am the best in England’. The Prince was very amused by this and took an instant liking to the brash young Irishman, bestowing a knighthood on him there and then. There is no hard evidence of this but it is a great story and he was fondly known as Sir Dan by his followers and some of the decadent dandies amongst the Fancy who respected his ability as a pugilist.
On 18 February 1820 Dan Donnelly died in his own pub, Pill Lane Public House. This was the only tavern he had left. A few days earlier he complained of feeling ‘dull and heavy’ but he just put it down to playing football and having a cold. He decided to take a stroll, thinking some fresh air would make him feel better. But this proved too strenuous for him. He was shivering and weak and returned to the tavern and went to bed. His wife was very worried to see how much his condition had worsened by the time she locked up for the night. The next day she called the doctor, who said that Dan was in a fatal condition. She would not believe this because her Dan was stronger than any other man in the land; he had never been sick before or if he was he would never show it nor complain. However, Dan had not taken care of himself; he drank to excess and would not eat food for days, only consuming whiskey and porter. He would sleep outdoors in the rain and on hard stone floors of cellars and barns if he was too drunk to make it home. It was also said that Dan had exerted himself with hard training and drank so much ‘water’ that he had suffered from ‘Hyper-Hydratio’, a form of water intoxication.
Kildare Folk Tales Page 2
