James "Jem" Roche (; 5 September 1878 – 28 November 1934) was an Irish

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

coach.

Early life

Roche was born in Ballinclay near to

Killurin Killurin () is a village in County Wexford, Ireland on the R730 regional road. Sited along the banks of the River Slaney, it is approximately 10 kilometres north-west of Wexford town. History Castle A Norman castle was built at the Deeps ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

in 1878. The family later moved to

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

town, and Jem attended Wexford CBS and worked for a time as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

at Carton's forge in Ballycarney.

Sporting career

Boxing

His first amateur fight took place in 1894 in the Town Hall (now Wexford Arts Centre). Roche, aged 16, knocked out his opponent, a soldier named Billy Murphy. The referee, Nicholas T. Tennant, later became Roche's coach. In 1900, aged 22, he won his first national title when he knocked out Jack Fitzpatrick in the Antient Concert Rooms (later the Academy Cinema on

Pearse Street, Dublin Pearse Street () (formerly Great Brunswick Street) is a major street in Dublin. It runs from College Street in the west to MacMahon Bridge in the east, and is one of the city's longest streets. It has several different types of residential and c ...

) to become Irish

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

champion. He retained that title for five years before losing to Young John L. Sullivan in 1905 in the Earlsfort Terrace Rink, Dublin. Roche defeated Sullivan in 1905 and retained the title in 1906 and 1907. In October 1907 Roche scored a major victory, knocking out Charlie Wilson (former British heavyweight champion) in the

Olympia Theatre, Dublin The Olympia Theatre, known for sponsorship and advertising purposes as the 3Olympia Theatre, is a concert hall and theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located on Dame Street. In addition to Irish acts, the venue has played host to many well-known ...

, which set him up for a title shot. On St. Patrick's Day 1908, Roche fought Tommy Burns for the world

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

title at the

Theatre Royal, Dublin Over the centuries, there have been five theatres in Dublin called the Theatre Royal. In the history of the theatre in Great Britain and Ireland, the designation "Theatre Royal", or "Royal Theatre", once meant that a theatre had been granted a r ...

, with a purse of £1,500 (split 80:20). He was knocked out after 88 seconds. This is sometimes described as the shortest world heavyweight fight at the time, but Burns had beaten Bill Squires in the same time the previous July, and

James J. Jeffries James Jackson "Jim" Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former Welte ...

had won a 1900 title fight in 55 seconds. Roche lost his Irish heavyweight title in 1910 to Matthew 'Nutty' Curran; he regained the title in 1913 when he again beat John L. Sullivan. He retired from boxing in that year.

Gaelic football

Roche played for the Young Irelands club, based in Selskar. He was appointed trainer of the Wexford senior football team and they went on win six consecutive

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

s (1913–18) and four consecutive

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

s (1915–18).

Personal life

Roche married Bridget Furlong in 1908 and they lived in Wexford and had five children: their sons Pierce and Seamus also had careers in boxing. Roche worked as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lican,

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

and commission agent's manager; he died in 1934, aged fifty-six. His grandson

Dick Roche Richard Eoin Roche (born 30 March 1947) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011 and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Minister for the ...

(born 1947) became a TD and cabinet minister. His grandson

Billy Roche Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in Wexford and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer with The Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a n ...

(born 1949) is a playwright. A plaque in his memory was erected in Wexford's "Bull Ring" in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Jem 1878 births 1934 deaths Bookmakers Drinking establishment owners Gaelic football coaches Irish male boxers Heavyweight boxers Middleweight boxers Boxers from County Wexford Wexford county football team People from Wexford, County Wexford