The policemen who met in a unique edition of the Cork-Kerry rivalry, for Olympic glory

Kerry man Ned Barrett, holder of an All-Ireland winner’s medal for hurling, beat Cork man Con O’Kelly to claim the title of British amateur heavyweight wrestling champion in 1908. The stakes were even higher when the pair clashed again later that yearNed Barrett and Con O'Kelly, both medallists at the 1908 Olympic Games.

Both men wore the colours of Great Britain and had day jobs patrolling English streets but their exotic accents hinted at the nature of the journeys that had brought them to this curious point in their sporting lives. On one side of the mat stood Ned Barrett from Rahela, near Listowel in Co Kerry.From a family of 12 kids, he had worked, upon arrival in London six years earlier, as a wireman in Regent Street before signing up for the City of London Police in 1905.

That O’Kelly had even reached White City was also remarkable in itself. In the early hours of March 4th that year, Hull fire brigade was battling a fierce blaze at Soulsby’s Saw Mill when a 20ft-tall gable end wall collapsed. Four firemen were buried beneath the bricks of two storeys, and after their colleagues had finally dug them out, the quartet were rushed to hospital.

“In the shot-putt event Barrett’s first throw was 12.89m , which was good enough to allow him to finish fifth overall, but he had to withdraw from the competition after another competitor dropped a shot on his ankle before the second round of throws,” wrote Jim Shanahan in the Dictionary of Irish Biography. “He also participated in the freestyle discus and javelin events ...

Upon returning to Hull he was paraded through the streets of the city aboard a chemical fire engine as he sported a white skull cap decorated with the Union Jack, still wearing the green oakleaf badge presented to him by Queen Alexandra at the medal ceremony in London. Despite lauding him for his victory, the local authorities refused to allow him a leave of absence to try to earn a few bob at professional wrestling, so, in February 1909, he resigned his job and went for it.

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