The demise of the local boxing club is one which has been evident across Co Tyrone and many parts of Northern Ireland for some time.
Once thriving rural hubs for training some of the most talented local fighters around, many have now either closed or are scrapping to keep the lights on.
Cookstown Boxing Club is one such club which sits on a different planet to that of the glitz and glam of the professional boxing world.
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After losing their premises during the pandemic, the club has now found a temporary home outside the town to keep them going for now.
Head coach at the club since its inception 11 years ago Adrian ‘Chalky’ Kelly says it has been a struggle at times but seeing the development of young people keeps him going.
“We had over 100 members in our big club, but unfortunately we are out in a wee shed in the country now,” Chalky told MyTyrone.
“We’ve made the best of a bad situation but it’s still small.
“It’s stressful when you do so much and you give up so much of your own time for the community.
“We’re taking children off the streets and learning them discipline and keeping them away from drugs and crime.
“It takes out a lot of the anger issues in people and we solely work on discipline.
“There have been times when I started to have grandchildren and you’re spending time with them and you do question why you’re devoting so much time to this.
“Seeing the development of these young people is the only thing that keeps me going to be honest.”
The club has trained 14 Irish champions and had medallists at the European Championships, and Chalky says they cater for all different communities, nationalities and abilities.
He added: “We would have at least 15 autistic children in at the minute. The way we work it is that we open it up to everyone to come, whether it be for boxing or fitness or even for their own mental health.
“My wee nephew has autism and I’ve got quite a few of them in at the minute in the junior class and their parents say it’s the best thing that ever happened them.
“The club is mixed with different communities, different nationalities and we get very little funding to keep us going.
“A lot of boxing clubs generally tend to be mostly from one side of the community or the other, but I had quite a few friends from both sides who started coming to me and then their children started coming as well.
“That is the only way to go and it had to be the only way to go in my eyes.”
The boxing coach added that while the long-term future of the club may be unclear - his primary objective is to have them back in the centre of the town as soon as possible.
“In an ideal world we see ourselves back in Cookstown again, where parents don’t need their cars to take their sons to the boxing.
“We’ve lost a lot of young lads through that, when we were in the town a lot of them were fit to walk to the club and because their parents don’t drive they can’t go any more.
“We are a town-based club. We’re called Cookstown Boxing Club and we don’t want to be that country club, it’s for the people of Cookstown.
“We have to get back to the town where we belong.”
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