Francis Barrett (born 7 February 1977), commonly known as Francie Barrett, is a retired

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

, who represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Background

He was introduced to boxing by trainer, mentor and former boxer Chick Gillen.

Amateur career

Barrett had in excess of 250 bouts as an amateur fighter and represented

internationally. He won Irish titles at both junior and senior level and also won the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

welterweight title in 1997, beating Tony Sesay and Michael Jennings on his way to winning the title. The highlight of Barrett's career came when he was the youngest member of the Irish team at the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and carried the

Irish flag The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of t ...

during the opening ceremony. During the Olympics, Barrett competed in the light welterweight division. For this, he gained global media attention and became a national hero. His results were: *Defeated Zely Fereria Dos Santos (Brazil) 32–7 *Lost to Fethi Missaoui (Tunisia) 6–18

Professional career

Barrett turned professional in August 2000 and fought at light welterweight, out of

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

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. Barrett won the British Southern Area Title and in June 2004 won the European (EU) Title.

Outside the ring

In March 1999, Barrett was ejected from a

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

nightclub due to his Irish Traveller heritage. At an earlier date, Barrett and his wife, Kathleen, were denied entry to a

Salthill Salthill () is a seaside area in the City of Galway in the west of Ireland. Lying within the townland of Lenaboy (''an Léana Buí''), it attracts many tourists all year round. There is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as ''the Pro ...

nightclub called ''Liquid''. Barrett filed a lawsuit for the ejection. The documentary, ''Southpaw: The Francis Barrett Story'', won the Audience Prize at the 1999 New York Irish Film Festival. It followed Barrett for three years and showed him overcoming discrimination as he progressed up the amateur

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

ranks to eventually carry the Irish flag and box for Ireland at the age of 19 during the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

References

External links

*
Barrett family of GalwayArticle from BritishBoxing.netBarrett on Hennessy Sports (archive.org copy)''Southpaw'' at British Film Institute
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Francie 1977 births Living people Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Irish male boxers Irish Traveller sportspeople Olympic boxers of Ireland Sportspeople from Galway (city) 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Welterweight boxers