A special event is to take place in Monaghan this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of former professional boxer Barry McGuigan becoming a world champion.
Nicknamed The Clones Cyclone, McGuigan dethroned Eusebio Pedroza to take the WBA featherweight title in 1985 and become one of Ireland's most iconic boxers in the process.
Now, exactly 40 years on from that fight, before an almost 27,000 crowd at Loftus Road in London on June 8 1985, the bout will be commemorated in his native Monaghan.
The match, which saw McGuigan become champion by dropping Pedroza of Panama in round seven and win the title on a unanimous 15-round decision, is to be shown at a special screening at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan Town.
Mr McGuigan will be in attendance for the screening before being interviewed about the events of 40 years previous and what they meant for both the local community in Monaghan and Irish boxing as a whole.
The event will conclude with live music and Mr McGuigan taking to the stage to sing with the band on the afternoon, following in the footsteps of his father, Pat, who competed in the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in 1968 and also sang Danny Boy before several of his son’s matches.
Barry McGuigan, who is also a boxing promoter, retired permanently from the ring four years after his world title winning fight. His record was 32 wins and three losses, with 28 victories by knockout.
The now 64-year-old’s WBA and The Ring world titles were the most glittering honours to his name. However, he had also accumulated a number of European and British titles along the way at the same weight class.
In 2005, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
More recently, Mr McGuigan featured on the reality television show I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! at the end of last year.
During his time in the jungle, Mr McGuigan opened up about the death of his daughter, actor Danika "Nika" McGuigan, who died at the age of 33, five weeks after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2019.
Tickets for the commemoration event at the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday 8 June, which is being organised by boxing promoter Scott Murray, will go on sale in the coming days.
Similar events are also scheduled to take place in Birmingham, Bristol and London.
