Harry Mullan was an

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 ...

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 predetermined ...

writer and journalist. He died on 21 May 1999 at the age of 53 after suffering from cancer for four years. Born Patrick Henry Pearse Mullan in

Portstewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, on 22 April 1946, Mullan was educated at St Patrick's College, Armagh and University College Dublin. He edited the British trade paper, ''Boxing News'' for 19 years, from 1977 until 1996. Only

Gilbert Odd Gilbert Odd (1902 – 12 May 1996) was a British boxing historian and sportswriter. Odd boxed briefly as an amateur, then at 18 turned his sights on the sports writing side of the game, becoming a ringside correspondent for the weekly magazine, ' ...

, Mullan's mentor, had a longer tenure. Mullan was an authoritative and principled writer, never afraid to highlight perceived injustice, and conveyed an innate understanding of the sport's political structure. He wrote many books on boxing and was held in high regard in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he covered many bouts and was posthumously inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 2005. Mullan also contributed regularly to television and radio coverage of the sport. In the 1990s, Mullan worked as the boxing correspondent for the ''Sunday Times'' and later for the ''Independent on Sunday''. He is buried in

Glenullin Glenullin was previously a rural area but has now expanded to become a small village in a valley between the villages of Garvagh, Swatragh and Dungiven, and lies in the borough of Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The nearest c ...

Bibliography

In addition to a vast output for daily and weekly newspapers, and editorship (1977–87) of ''Boxing News Annual'' and (1988–92) ''News of the World Boxing Annual'', Mullan's books include: *''The Illustrated History of Boxing'' (Hamlyn, 1987) *''The Book of Boxing Quotations'' (Stanley Paul, 1988) *''Heroes and Hard Men'' (Stanley Paul, 1989) *(with

Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 ...

and Gerry Callan) ''Barry McGuigan: The Untold Story'' (Robson, 1991) - a biography suppressed by a libel action *''Boxing: The Last 25 Years'' (W.H. Smith, 1991) *(with Peter Arnold) ''A Boxing Companion'' (W.H. Smith, 1992) *''Fighting Words'' (Canterbury: Colebridge Associates, 1993) *''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Boxing'' (London: Carlton, 1996), subsequently updated in various editions by Bob Mee, 2007 ed. , 2010 ed. *''Ring Wars: Pictorial History of Boxing'' (Paragon, 1997) *''Boxing: Inside the Game'' (Cambridge: Icon Books, 1998) *''Boxing: The Complete Illustrated Guide'' *''The World Encyclopedia of Boxing''

References

1946 births 1999 deaths Sports journalists from Northern Ireland Boxing writers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Alumni of University College Dublin People from Portstewart People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland {{NorthernIreland-boxing-bio-stub