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Declan’s Place – Sean Duffy opens gym in memory of suicide victim – plans to help retired boxers

It’s more than a business venture for Sean Duffy [3(1)-0].

Indeed, the Duffy name above the door of his new gym isn’t just his.

The Commonwealth Games medal winner has named a new gym after Declan Duffy, a young victim of suicide, whose father the boxer knew.

The now professional wants the gym to carry the memory of young Declan and has set himself the goal of reducing the number of parents left ‘wondering why’.

The 29-year-old Keady fighter also hopes ‘Duffy’s Fitness – Declan’s Place’ in Dunmurry, Belfast will also provide an avenue for retired fighters to earn a living post retirement.

“The gym is opening in the memory of young Declan Duffy from Belfast who took his own life. A son of a good friend of myself who has been left wondering why,” Duffy explained to Irish-boxing.com.

“Duffy Fitness Dunmury, Belfast will be a gym to where people with problems mentally and physical can come to train. The aim is to create an environment with positive people who are the best at what they do and care about the client in hand.”

The gym will have boxing at it’s core, but will focus on a whole more.

“It’s is a boxing based gym, which will work one to one with clients. We will have previous and past boxers taking sessions and classes. We will have wide ranging classed for wide ranging people and age ground, from kids,teens, ladies and men, people learning how to box and just people wanting to improve themselves either physical or mentally.”

While the mission is to help people with their mental and physical health, Duffy points out he also hopes to help retired boxers.

“I am looking to give boxers an opportunity to work in a field that they love and share their knowledge and experience with others. People don’t realise that fighters and coaches that dedicate their whole lives to the sport quite often end up coming out the other side with nothing. It’s a sad fact about boxing.

“I am trying to giving something back to the boxing people and the public by offering jobs to those that want a stable income for life after boxing while still sticking to their gym environment that they are used to.”

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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