NO matter where he goes, there is one question Brendan Irvine dreads above all others – yet it is on the tip of most people’s tongues when they see him.
"Well, what’s the story, are you still boxing?”
“Honestly,” he smiles, “I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked that…”
When you don’t know the answer yourself, it becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy others’ enquiries. This, though, is where Irvine stands after a difficult year outside the ropes.
A two-time Olympian, a silver medallist at Commonwealth and European Games, as well as taking home bronze from the 2017 European Championships, ‘Wee Rooster’ has the kind of resumé most can only dream of - and he’s still only 26.
Since returning from the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, however, things have been less than straightforward.
After beginning work as a community coach with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) – a job he “absolutely loves” - Irvine hoped to carry on his amateur career alongside that new role.
Unfortunately it proved impossible, and attempting to combine the two left Irvine feeling as though the walls were closing in around him.
“When I first started the job I was trying to work full-time and train full-time, burning the candle at both ends. I wasn’t getting anywhere, I wasn’t getting fitter or anything or getting better… I was doing too much.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing, but even when I came back from the Olympics I hit a downward spiral, just because I was sort of left to my own accord.
“I didn’t tell anyone, I was just bottling things up… it wasn’t until after Christmas that it all spiralled out of control. I was struggling mentally. The first person I spoke to was [fiancée] Bronagh, and she was like ‘why have you been holding it in and not saying to me?’
“That’s the way a lot of fellas are unfortunately – we don’t always open up. You put on this front and try and get on with things, but it builds up on top of you…”
That second Olympic experience took a toll too. Not because of a lack of support due to the pandemic, or even a first round defeat to eventual silver medallist Carlo Paalam.
Instead, after so much effort had gone into keeping his Tokyo 2020 dream alive, the training camp beforehand turned into a disaster as a back problem that struck on the Irish team’s first day in Miyazaki meant Irvine was only fit for one spar heading towards amateur boxing’s greatest stage.
“I had the worst time of my life out there.
“My whole back went into spasm after the first training session - I was in total agony, couldn’t get up the stairs, had to get 14 injections in my back when I was over there, just to try and settle it down. It would settle down for that night, but the next morning you were back to square one.
“You’re going over there for the Olympic Games, you should be having the camp of your life… you don’t prepare to go over there to have a sh*t camp. Even if you’re sparring bad, it doesn’t matter – you’re still sparring. You’re still ticking boxes, getting rounds.
“That’s not me making excuses for being beat in the Olympics, but when you should be sparring and you’re missing out on that, it gets into your head. It was really bad.”
As well as family, Irvine has also been speaking to former Irish rugby international and current SINI performance skills coach, Gary Longwell, in recent months. The pair would have chatted at various points through the years, but this time was different.
Unsure what the future held, Irvine considered joining friend Kurt Walker in the professional ranks but, at that point anyway, his heart wasn’t in it.
Coaching - and imparting the vast experience collected along the way - has led to a role at Ulster University, while Irvine also helps out John Conlan and Damian Kennedy with the youth and junior section of the Ulster High Performance on Saturday mornings.
Longwell is a trusted voice, and their conversations have helped bring some clarity in the midst of everything.
“I’d have used big Gary loads of times in the past, even if it was just for a phone call, because you can be away for long periods at a time with all sorts going through your head. It was only when I was struggling that I sort of needed him.
“I’ve been meeting him every month, just trying to put a bit of structure on what I actually want to do, and suiting myself rather than suiting others… I’ve been enjoying trying to live my life for the past three months, because before that you’re trying to suit other people.
“It’s been hard trying to come to terms with everything. I’m probably going to leave the amateur set-up and give coaching a crack for the next wee while until I have a clear mind, instead of just jumping into something.
“I think John and Dee want me up there as much as I can because I’ve been in the programme for the last 10 years, I know everything they do from the warm-up to the cool down. I have loads of experience to give, loads to offer.
“There’s not a whole lot of people who have known how I’ve felt, because I only told people I needed to tell. When I first told John [Conlan] he put me in touch with Gary, and said he would support me no matter what I wanted to do, whether that was staying in the programme or exiting the programme.
“To be honest, though, I’m not even focusing on boxing at the minute – I’m just focusing on winning the days for myself. If that’s going to work and doing my own wee bit of training, taking my dog for a walk or whatever, then I’m happy enough.
“It’s been a hard slog but, thankfully, I’m starting to see a wee bit of light at the end of the tunnel.”
