Death of Christy Foley, ironwork and boxing champion
The death has occurred of Christy Foley, patriarch of the Foley's Forge family in Dunshaughlin, and a former national boxing champion. He was aged 95.
The blacksmith business in Dunshaughlin went as far back as 1845, when Christy's great grandfather, William Foley from Kilmessan, established there, and generations of blacksmiths and farriers followed, including the present generation who run the business today.
When Christy joined as a farrier in the 1940s, he decided he would like to do ornamental work as well as shoeing horses, and served his time in Leixlip with Joe Breen, specialising in wrought ironwork.
He studied at Bolton Street College and won a scholarship to Ardee Technical School, and in 1951, won the Championship of Ireland when he took the An Tostal Shield for wrought ironwork, beating off competition from the major ironwork companies, with his wrought iron fire screen.
This was the turning point for Foley's Forge, as Brown Thomas in Dublin commissioned Foleys to produce pieces for their Grafton Street store. Brothers, Seamus, Benny and Joe, also worked with the family business.
In March 1950, Christy Foley became the first Meath man to win a national boxing championship.
In a surprise victory, the 22-year-old Christy beat Pat Buckley of Cork to become Irish Senior Lightweight Champion. Buckley had defeated European champion, Maxie McCullagh, in the first round of the lightweight campaign.
Christy and his four brothers were known as ‘the Fighting Foleys’ and were members of Dunshaughlin Boxing Club, a prominent club in a popular sport at the time.
His first appearance on a roll of honour was in 1946, when he won the County Dublin featherweight league.
As a corporal in the FCA, he was entitled to fight for the Army, and captured the Eastern Command Featherweight tithe the following year. In 1948, he was runner-up in the Irish Junior Championship, and in the same year he became junior featherweight champion of the Army’s Eastern Command. He also took a number of Meath titles.
Christy Foley represented Ireland internationally on a number of occasions, and was on Irish teams that travelled to Germany, England, and Italy, to take part in competition. One of the highlights of his career was meeting Pope Pius XII in Rome. His brother Joe, a SMA missionary priest now living in Cork, also represented the country internationally.
Chairman of the Meath County Boxing Board for some years, he retired from boxing around the time of his marriage to his late wife, Mary O’Flaherty, in 1954.
Christy was also a founding member and longtime station officer of Dunshaughlin Fire Service.
He died peacefully yesterday at Sancta Maria Nursing Home, Kinnegad.
Husband of the late Mary, father of the late Evelyn and brother of the late Podger and Benny, Christy is survived by his daughter Avril, sons Paul, Mark and Allen, son-in-law Steve, daughters-in-law Siobhán, Karen and Eileen, grandchildren Rebecca, Ava, Ryan, Abbie, Ella and Scott, brothers Fr Joe and Seamus, sisters Mag O'Dwyer and Mary Englishby, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family and many friends.
He will be reposing at Mc Entaggart’s Funeral Home, Dunshaughlin from 4pm until 8pm on Sunday. Funeral Mass on Monday at 11am in Ss Patrick and Seachnall’s Church, Dunshaughlin followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. Those unable to attend can follow Christy’s funeral mass at https://www.churchservices.tv/dunshaughlin.
Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Dementia Ireland https://alzheimer.ie/get-involved/become-a-friend-support-asi/donate/
As Christy’s favourite colour was red please feel free to wear a splash of red in his memory.