Clara Copley (14 May 1865 – 14 March 1949) was an Irish boxing promotor, who was born into a family of

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

performers. Also known as Ma Copley, she was the proprietor of organized boxing matches at Belfast Chapel Fields Arena in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during the 1930s. A number of men fought in her earlier boxing booth and her later arena matches for the prize moneys offered. One of the boxers was

Rinty Monaghan John Joseph Monaghan (21 August 1918 – 3 March 1984) was an Undisputed World flyweight boxing champion from Belfast. He became famous in the post-war period, eventually rising to become undisputed world champion and a hero to many people in ...

who became

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded ...

World Champion in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division by knocking out reigning champion

Jackie Paterson Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was an Undisputed World Flyweight Champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight. Early life Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigra ...

on 23 March 1948 at

King's Hall, Belfast The King's Hall was a multi-purpose venue located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The King's Hall consisted of 6 event venues. The King's Hall is owned by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) (previously the North East Agricultural Associ ...

. Other Irish boxers who took to prize-money matches in Copley's ring include

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

Ed Bunty Doran Ed, ed or ED may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ed'' (film), a 1996 film starring Matt LeBlanc * Ed (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Edward Elric, a character in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' media * ''Ed'' (TV series), a TV series that ran fro ...

, who was often pitted against Monaghan in the professional ring and later became an Irish champion;

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

Tommy Armour Thomas Dickson Armour (24 September 1896 – 11 September 1968) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He was nicknamed The Silver Scot. He was the winner of three of golf's major championships: 1927 U.S. Open, 1 ...

who later knocked out

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Welterweight Champion

Eric Boon Eric Boon (28 December 1919 – 19 January 1981) was a champion British lightweight boxer. Born in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, he was known by the nicknames Boy Boon and the Fen Tiger. Of a total of 119 fights, he won 92 ( KO 62), lost 21 (K ...

; and Flyweight

Jimmy Warnock James Warnock (1912 in Lurgan – 1987) was a Southpaw boxer from the Shankill Road, Belfast, Ireland. Jimmy Warnock began his early boxing career at Belfast's Chapel Fields in prize fights organised by Clara Copley. In the 1930s he beat ...

, one of the first from Copley's rings to make money professionally. Copley died at Donegall Pass, Belfast on 14 March 1949. A plaque was unveiled on her former home by the Ulster Historical Circle.

References

Further reading