Dublin boxer Kellie Harrington has brought enormous pride to her Portland Row community, after winning Gold at the Tokyo Olympics this morning.
The 31 year old boxer has worked extremely hard for her achievement, balancing an intensive training regime with a weekend job in catering and cleaning in St Vincent’s Psychiatric hospital. She has been boxing since her early teens, crediting it with saving her life when – in her own words – she was ‘’going down a bumpy road’’. She says ‘’It’s a different discipline in a boxing club. You are surrounded by people who have a goal and a plan.’’
Kellie’s huge success is just a taste of the enormous talent that exists in working class communities, and in areas that are often neglected by the state. If this talent was properly nurtured, supported and funded, imagine how many more could rise to similar heights.Instead of demonising young people, we should be providing clear paths and opportunities for people to explore their skills and potential – whether it is in sport, education, or the arts.
The truth is that even though government politicians are quick to tweet their congratulations to Harrington, they are very slow to fund boxing at grassroots level. A key reason for this is a snobbery about the sport, which is an overwhelmingly working class sport, and therefore not afforded the same status as a sport like hockey, despite the fact that Ireland performs exceptionally well in boxing.
But the lack of funding for boxing is just one example of a government that is willing to to take the credit for the success of champions like Harrington – whilst continuing to make it extremely difficult for young people in disadvantaged areas to actually explore their potential.
There are many more young Kellie Harringtons who can do great things. Whether they get the chance to or not will be down to whether we can elect a government that will invest in people, not just in corporate profits.
