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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Belfast, NIR |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Holy Family ABC: Belfast, NIR |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | In March 2019 he broke his nose during a defeat to US boxer Oscar Mojica. (bbc.co.uk, 18 Mar 2019) He injured ligaments in his right hand during his first fight in the 2015 World Series of Boxing [WSB]. As a result he missed the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. (the42.ie, 19 May 2015) He pulled out of the final of the 2013 European Championships in Minsk, Belarus, because of a broken nose he had sustained in the first round. (belfastdaily.co.uk, 08 Jun 2013) He was forced out of the competition at the 2007 European Championships in Dublin, Ireland, after being diagnosed with bleeding behind the retina in his eye. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 27 Jul 2007) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His friends and cousins were boxers and they encouraged him to start. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Irish horseracing jockey AP McCoy. (worldseriesboxing.com, 15 Mar 2015) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Gerry Storey [club] |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began boxing at age 10 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Paddy (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 04 May 2016) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "You only achieve what you believe." (Athlete, 04 Oct 2010) |
| Other information | QUALIFICATION He qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro through his performance in the 2015 World Series of Boxing [WSB], a 14-week competition that involved fighting in a number of different countries. "I've never been through an experience like that. It was so hard and so depressing and I hated every minute of it. I hurt my right hand in my first fight, but I had to fight on because of what was at stake. I had to make my weight every two weeks, I had to take long haul flights and I hated it. It was difficult being away from [partner] Mari and my daughter. I felt like a stranger to her because I wasn't seeing her that much." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 06 May 2015) DEDICATION He dedicated the achievement of qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games to the memory of former Ireland teammate and fellow 2008 Olympic medallist Darren Sutherland, who died in 2009. (doghouseboxing.com, 19 Apr 2012) |
| Awards and honours | He was flag bearer for Ireland at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (bbc.co.uk, 27 Apr 2016) In 2015 he was made Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE]. (belfastlive.co.uk, 11 May 2015; irishpaddybarnes.com, 14 Jan 2015) In 2013 he won the Belfast Telegraph Special Achievement award, the Sports Personality of the Year prize at the Aisling Awards, and the Irish Boxing Writers' Association Achievement Award in 2013. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 09 May 2014) He was named Canon Hayes All-Ireland Sports Personality of the Year in 2010. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 09 May 2014) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Wife Mari, daughters Eireann and Fianna |
General Interest | |
| Milestones | He became the first boxer representing Ireland to win two medals at the Olympic Games when he claimed bronze in the light flyweight category at the 2012 Games in London. He had also won bronze in the light flyweight category four years earlier in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 27 Mar 2019; belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 09 May 2014) |