Local Faces: Brian Brady

THIS week, we’re delighted to feature the President of Esker Boxing Club in Lucan, Brian Brady, writes Ken Doyle.

Boxing, to the uninitiated, is just two people battering each other in a roped up ring, but it’s so much more than that and has more to offer than you might think.

For a start, a boxing workout exercises every muscle group, burning fat as it goes.

It also offers a full cardiovascular workout, raising the heart rate and lowering blood pressure.

As well as that it relieves stress and increases core strength as well as giving a practical class in self-defence.

On the down side, one might occasionally have to cop an unfortunate one to the eyebrow or solar plexus. One way or another, it’s all character-building.

No one is more of an advocate of boxing’s underappreciated values than Brian but before he waxes lyrical about his favourite subject (the club), we’ll go back a bit as I ask him about his early life.

“Well, I’m originally from Mourne Road in Drimnagh. I went to school at Drimnagh Castle and then Mourne Road School and I’ve lived in Lucan for 24 years now, so this is my home.”

“When I finished school, I went to Crumlin College and did a PLC (post Leaving Cert) course in Marketing, Advertising, Sales and Design. Also, I was Naval Reserve with the Irish Navy starting in 1992 running until 2002.”

With these qualifications in his back pocket, it’s hard to imagine how his career was going to go, but we soon got a slightly unexpected answer.

“I went into tiles believe it or not. I started as a Salesman for Viking Tiles which is sadly gone now.

‘I enjoyed the work and over the next five years or so, I worked my way up to the position of Area Manager for them.

‘I enjoyed it though, particularly the aspect of working with a sales team.

‘I’ve always enjoyed teamwork and that’s something that’s stayed with me through the years.

‘I’ve always loved local groups and community groups and got involved in them as much as I could at the time.”

Brian’s career was about to get very interesting and at a very risky time at our economic history. “I made contacts in the building trade during my time with Viking and I then got involved with the Plant Hire business.

‘I ended up specialising in Diamond cutting tools and was recruited by various firms to sell them to the trade.

‘Long story short, in 2009, at the worst of the economic crisis, I started my own business, Accura Diamond Tools.”

“It was a huge struggle at first and I drove taxis as well to keep the wolf from the door.

‘I was doing 80 hours a week and I was shattered but I believed in the company.

‘I’m delighted to say that I weathered the storm and now, 17 years later we’re doing well.

‘We provide Diamond Tools to all sorts of customers and our products are used in all aspects of the construction process.”

Diamond Tools, by the way dear reader, are tools that use particles of diamonds (the hardest substance on earth) in their cutting blades.

‘They’re used to cut concrete for example and come in all shapes and sizes for many different jobs.

‘Apologies if that seems patronising but I had to Google it myself even though Brian did his best to put the info into my thick head.

And so we get to the meat of the matter, Esker Boxing Club.

I asked Brian how he got involved in the sport and he tells me, “I was first introduced to boxing in Drimnagh by a great couple of men at Drimnagh Boxing Club, Phil Sutcliffe and Harry Gough.

‘Although I wasn’t very good, I loved the training and the atmosphere in the gym.

I can’t explain it but it had a very positive effect on me. I fell out of it when work got intense but I’ll always be grateful to those days and Phil and Harry especially.”

It was sheer serendipity that brought Brian back in. “When I moved to Lucan, I reconnected with a couple of old friends, Mick and Caroline Kelly.

‘They were involved in the club and they invited me down to a show at Lucan Sarsfields clubhouse.

‘I loved it and decided I’d get involved straight away, initially in the form of a bit of sponsorship from Accura but when I went down to the club, it grew pretty much straight away.”

“When I rocked up, a great man named Ed Griffin was president and head coach.

‘Ed had set up the club in 2012 and was struggling under the weight of being responsible for a lot of things.

‘Caroline and Mick showed me the ropes so to speak and I was eager to get stuck in. It wasn’t more than a few months before I was asked to become President.

‘I was delighted as I felt like I fit right in with everyone there and it was nice to take a bit of the weight off Ed’s shoulders.”

Cut to today and the club is home to around 120 members from Academy to Senior grades.

The club has had fantastic success both at home and abroad with many European and Irish medallists in their ranks.

They have become a breeding ground for the pro game too with Luke Maguire, Nathan Ojo and Evan Fitzgerald named by Brian as three to watch with their professional careers about to start.

“We also have regular trips abroad with the kids as we’ve participated in tournaments in Cornwall, New York and Chicago amongst others.

‘Those trips are always fantastic and it’s great for our members to test themselves and see different cultures.

‘We have a very strong code of ethics in the club and ultimately we consider ourselves a very progressive club.

‘We’re open to all comers no matter what. The buck still stops at Myself, Mick and Ed though as we ultimately make the big decisions on the club.”

Brian makes sure to thank Ed, Mick and Caroline and also their great coaches who all volunteer their services free of charge.

It goes without saying that he’s tremendously proud of the club and all of its members.

When he’s not showing the youth of his area the right way in boxing and life, Brian is every bit the devoted family man.

He’s been married to the saintly Lorraine for 25 years and together they’re proud parents of four children who are not really children any more if you follow me, namely 22-year old Amber (the only non-boxer), Chris who’s 21, Cain, 18, and sixteen year old Josh who’s becoming increasingly involved in bringing the new generation of talent through at Esker Boxing Club.

At the end of our chat we chewed the fat about favourite TV shows and it’s clear I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

To narrow it down, Brian heartily recommends Yellowstone as a brilliant serial drama (he loves that sort of thing).

Also his favourite programme is ‘The Apprentice’, “the Alan Sugar one,” he hastens to add.

Apparently there was an American version but there was nobody we know in it.

For more information on Esker Boxing Club, check out their Facebook page.