Tributes have been paid to Belfast Olympic and Commonwealth Games boxer Jim McCourt following his death at the age of 79.
The west Belfast pugilist, who hailed from the Falls Road area, won Ireland's only medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, clinching bronze in the lightweight division.
A member of the Immaculata Boxing Club, he went on to win a gold medal for light welterweight at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.
The southpaw said of representing Ireland in his green vest on the world stage: "Nothing else came close to giving me so much pride."
Among those to pay tribute to the Belfast athlete was journalist and host of the Rocky Road boxing podcast, Kevin Byrne, who described him as a "titan" and "one of Irish amateur boxing's all-time greats" in social media posts.
Mr McCourt was inducted into the Irish Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Fellow Olympic and Commonwealth boxing medal winner Hugh Russell, now an Irish News photographer, said Jim would be “deeply missed” by the Irish boxing fraternity.
“Jim was known worldwide for his achievements in the ring, and he put Ireland on the boxing map. He was an inspiration to so many people here involved with the sport, and we will all feel his loss.”
Tributes have been paid to Belfast Olympic and Commonwealth Games boxer Jim McCourt following his death at the age of 79.
The west Belfast pugilist, who hailed from the Falls Road area, won Ireland's only medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, clinching bronze in the lightweight division.
A member of the Immaculata Boxing Club, he went on to win a gold medal for light welterweight at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica.
The southpaw said of representing Ireland in his green vest on the world stage: "Nothing else came close to giving me so much pride."
Among those to pay tribute to the Belfast athlete was journalist and host of the Rocky Road boxing podcast, Kevin Byrne, who described him as a "titan" and "one of Irish amateur boxing's all-time greats" in social media posts.
Mr McCourt was inducted into the Irish Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Fellow Olympic and Commonwealth boxing medal winner Hugh Russell, now an Irish News photographer, said Jim would be “deeply missed” by the Irish boxing fraternity.
“Jim was known worldwide for his achievements in the ring, and he put Ireland on the boxing map. He was an inspiration to so many people here involved with the sport, and we will all feel his loss.”
