Jem Roche

James "Jem" Roche (/dʒɛm ˈroʊtʃ/; 5 September 1878 – 28 November 1934) was an Irish boxer and Gaelic football coach.[2][3][4]

Jem Roche
Memorial plaque, Wexford
Statistics
Nickname(s)Jem, the Bull
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 1⁄3 in (171 cm)
NationalityIrish
BornJames Roche
5 September 1878
Ballinclay, County Wexford, Ireland
Died28 November 1934 (age 56)
Wexford, Irish Free State
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights24
Wins18
Wins by KO10
Losses6

Early life

Roche was born in Ballinclay near to Killurin, County Wexford in 1878. The family later moved to Wexford town, and Jem attended Wexford CBS and worked for a time as a blacksmith.

Sporting career

Boxing

His first amateur fight took place in 1894 in the Town Hall (now Wexford Arts Centre). Roche, aged 16, knocked out his opponent, a soldier named Billy Murphy. The referee, Nicholas T. Tennant, later became Roche's coach.

In 1900, aged 22, he won his first national title when he knocked out Jack Fitzpatrick in the Antient Concert Rooms (later the Academy Cinema on Pearse Street, Dublin) to become Irish middleweight champion. He retained that title for five years before losing to John L. Sullivan in 1905 in the Earlsfort Terrace Rink, Dublin. Roche defeated Sullivan in 1905 and retained the title in 1906 and 1907.[5]

In October 1907 Roche scored a major victory, knocking out Charlie Wilson (former British heavyweight champion) in the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, which set him up for a title shot. On St. Patrick's Day 1908, Roche fought Tommy Burns for the world heavyweight title at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, with a purse of £1,500 (split 80:20).[6] He was knocked out after 88 seconds. This is sometimes described as the shortest world heavyweight fight at the time, but Burns had beaten Bill Squires in the same time the previous July, and James J. Jeffries had won a 1900 title fight in 55 seconds.[7][8]

Roche lost his Irish heavyweight title in 1910 to Matthew 'Nutty' Curran; he regained the title in 1913 when he again beat John L. Sullivan. He retired from boxing in that year.

Gaelic football

Roche played for the Young Irelands club, based in Selskar. He was appointed trainer of the Wexford senior Gaelic football team and they went on win six consecutive Leinster Senior Football Championships (1913–18) and four consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championships (1915–18).[9][10]

Personal life

Roche married Bridget Furlong in 1908 and they lived in Wexford and had five children: their sons Pierce and Seamus also had careers in boxing.

Roche worked as a publican, bookmaker and commission agent's manager; he died in 1934, aged fifty-six.

His grandson Dick Roche (born 1947) became a TD and cabinet minister.[11] His grandson Billy Roche (born 1949) is a playwright.[12][13][14]

A plaque in his memory was erected in Wexford's "Bull Ring" in 1961.[15]

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References
  1. "Boxing record for Jem Roche". BoxRec.
  2. "IL-00352 Jem Roche ( Wexford ) Boxing Champion of Ireland. old photograph – The Historical Picture Archive". www.historicalpicturearchive.com.
  3. "Cyber Boxing Zone -- Jem Roche". www.cyberboxingzone.com.
  4. Gaul, Liam (May 6, 2019). "Famous Wexfordians". History Press – via Google Books.
  5. Hogan, Robert; Kilroy, James (April 19, 1978). "The modern Irish drama: a documentary history". Dolmen Press – via Google Books.
  6. Flynn, Barry (September 7, 2015). "The Little Book of Irish Boxing". History Press – via Google Books.
  7. "Shortest Heavyweight Title Fights". Boxing News 24 Forum.
  8. "Hold the backpage". The Irish Times.
  9. "Wexford footballers have had a few Jems down the years". The Irish Times.
  10. "Kerry are hoping to experience the joy of six". The Irish Times.
  11. "Famous Wexford People in History". www.facebook.com.
  12. Browne, Bernard (January 19, 1997). "Living by the pen: a biographical dictionary of County Wexford authors". B. Browne – via Google Books.
  13. Doody, Derry J. F. "Jem Roche: Wexford". www.scoreboardmemories.com.
  14. Wallace, Arminta. "A year to remember". The Irish Times.
  15. Rossiter, Nicky (July 3, 2017). "Lost Wexford: The Forgotten Heritage". History Press – via Google Books.
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