Northern Ireland

Embrace difference says Belfast boxer Michael Conlan as he backs anti-bullying campaign

Michael Conlan with his partner Shauna Olali and children Luisne (6) and Michael (3). Photo: Darren Kidd // Press Eye
Michael Conlan with his partner Shauna Olali and children Luisne (6) and Michael (3). Photo: Darren Kidd // Press Eye Michael Conlan with his partner Shauna Olali and children Luisne (6) and Michael (3). Photo: Darren Kidd // Press Eye

WEST Belfast boxing champion Michael Conlan has revealed he was picked on as a child because of his size, leaving him feeling "isolated, different and unhappy".

The WBA Interim Featherweight World Champion and two-time Olympian was speaking today as he and his family launched the 16th Anti-Bullying Week.

The professional boxer, his partner Shauna Olali and children Luisne (6) and Michael (3) wore mismatched socks to mark Odd Sock Day and celebrate and encourage individuality.

He said: "Growing up, like many children, I was picked on. Often my small stature was the focal point and at times I felt isolated, different and unhappy.

"With support and help I learned to use my differences - the things that attracted that unwelcome attention - to my advantage and become what I am today, a world champion boxer."

He added that no one should be "treated differently or harassed because they don’t fit in with others' ideals".

The week is also being supported by CBeebies presenter Andy Day and his band 'Andy and the Odd Socks’, who have launched a new song and video using this year’s theme 'One Kind Word'.

The video features students from last year’s winning schools including Donaghadee Primary School; Killowen Primary School, Lisburn; and St John’s Primary School, Derry.

Charlene Brooks, chair of Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum which is coordinating the week, added: "Our manifesto for this year is about the simple act of kindness, from small positive statements made from one child to another to acting kindly so that we can ignite a chain reaction that overpowers negativity and instils positivity."

The NSPCC said it delivered 6,654 counselling sessions about bullying through Childline in 2020/21 - 62 per cent of these were about bullying in person while 38 per cent were about online bullying.

Mairead Monds, team manager, Childline Northern Ireland, said the past 18 months had been extremely tough for children due to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

"As well as grappling with home schooling, being isolated from family and friends and dealing with worries about the virus, some children were also being bullied," she said.

"Our counsellors spoke to many children who said that the bullying that they experienced in person prior to the pandemic transferred online during the national lockdowns.

"Many of these children as well as others who experienced this issue before the pandemic told Childline that the lockdowns made the online bullying feel even more overwhelming.

"They told us that the extra time they were spending online for their education, entertainment and to keep in contact with loved ones was making the bullying feel inescapable.

"For some children, the lockdowns provided them with some respite from the bullying that they had previously experienced meaning many felt really anxious at the thought of returning to school."