Fallon's Town Talk: Aoife’s heroics put her in the pantheon of great Rossies

As the world becomes a more perilous place, it’s human nature to turn to sport, music and film to distract us from the creeping sense of fear and danger. Boxing mightn’t be the most obvious arena to find an antidote to a world in crisis. Boxing has its own seamy side, especially in the professional game. Last Sunday, the sport lost one of its most popular champions when Ricky Hatton died, aged just 46.

However, amateur boxing brought undiluted joy to Ireland, and especially Roscommon, last Sunday when the great Aoife O’Rourke of Tarmon captured the world title, which her talent has long deserved. That her fight took place in Liverpool meant that many from Castlerea could travel to her final against Bursa Isildar of Turkey.

In winning the 75kg gold medal at the IABA world boxing championships in Liverpool, Aoife emulated her sister Lisa’s achievement in the 70kg division in 2022. It means the O’Rourkes have become the first sisters to win world boxing titles. That sets them apart, not just in the lore of Roscommon, but elevates them among the most celebrated sporting families nationwide.

Aoife herself knows the less edifying side of boxing. In successive Olympic Games, especially in Paris last year, she has been at the wrong end of controversial decisions. Yet she has bounced back in just over 12 months to achieve the peak – so far – of her glittering career. Aoife has become world champion in a post-Olympic year in which many of Ireland’s Paris heroes have suffered injuries or a slump in form.

Due to the enormity of what the O’Rourke sisters have achieved, we could become guilty of taking them for granted. In 2021, when Aoife boxed in Tokyo, she became Roscommon’s first Olympian since rower Dr Martin Feely of Lecarrow in 1976. Ballymoe's Richeal Timothy is a double Paralympian in this decade too. Roscommon Olympians have not exactly been abundant since Ireland began competing as an independent nation in the 1920s. We are living through a golden age for Roscommon sport, spearheaded by the county’s female athletes.

One of the most important legacies of this era will be the inspiration these incredible sportspeople give to future generations of young girls and boys. The hope must be that young people inspired by the O’Rourkes and Timothy will ensure local Olympians and Paralympians are no longer a rarity.

In the wake of her world title triumph, where does Aoife stand in the pantheon of Roscommon sport and the history of the county? Three footballers – Jimmy Murray, Gerry O’Malley and Dermot Earley – are probably Roscommon’s most famous sportspeople, while O’Malley was a noted hurler too. Jack Carty has won 10 caps for Ireland at international rugby and Paddy Perry won eight All-Ireland handball titles in the 1930s. John Caulfield is a titan of Irish domestic soccer.

I haven’t been chatting to the county’s pre-eminent sporting historian, Colm Hannelly, about this so I’m sure I’ve left out other worthy contenders for a mythical Hall of Fame of Roscommon sport.

However, Aoife’s haul of a world title, four European titles and a world silver medal bears comparison with anything any sportsperson from this county has achieved. It also brings her into the conversation about the foremost Rossies in any field of endeavour.

Of course, neither Aoife and Lisa are currently worried about their place in history. Unlike Alexander the Great, there are more worlds for them to conquer and, hopefully, that will include a trip for both of them to the City of Angels in 2028.

The National Ploughing Championships would normally be another happy distraction from the travails of the outside world. If the weather plays ball, it should still be a jamboree and celebration of rural Ireland with thousands flocking from Roscommon and all other parts of Ireland to Screggan, near Tullamore.

Nevertheless, as was the case last year, with an election in the offing, the ploughing will have a strong political edge this week. For the three candidates already in the field for the presidential election, the ploughing championships provide an ideal platform to showcase themselves.

Presidential elections for traditionally nasty affairs, but something much darker is now stirring in global politics. The threats of violence against the family of the Tánaiste Simon Harris should sweep away any complacency or delusion that the horrors we’re currently witnessing in US politics, or the murders of British MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, could never happen here.

The days when public discourse involved fierce debate while respecting your opponent are vanishing, with leading politicians and social media companies happy to stoke the hate.