GENE TUNNEY
Of Kiltimagh Lineage

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Mary Lydon from Gurthgarve, Kiltimagh, immigrated to the United States after the famine. She settled in New York City where she met John Tunney, also from Kiltimagh. They married after a short courtship.

The Tunneys had seven children; one son, a policeman, died tragically, while Gene would become famous as World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

Gene Tunney                 Gene Tunney

The highlights of Gene Tunney's boxing career were his two fights against Jack Dempsey. The first fight took place in Philadelphia, in September 1926, before a crowd of 120,000 people. Tunney, known as "The Fighting Marine", out-boxed "The Manassa Mauler" throughout most of the ten rounds, and left the ring as champion.

More than 100,000 attended the re-match in Soldier Field, Chicago, in 1927. Again, Tunney out- smarted Dempsey in the first six rounds. In Round Seven, Dempsey connected with a flurry of punches, and Tunney hit the canvas. Dempsey should have gone to a neutral corner, as the rules of The State Athletic Commission of Illinois stated, in the event of a knockdown. However, he stayed close to Tunney. The referee motioned, and then half pushed Dempsey towards the neutral corner. Instead of picking up the timekeeper's count at six, the referee shouted "one." Tunney didn't get to his feet until "nine." Through his tactical boxing, Tunney survived the round, and went on to win another unanimous decision.

The incident in this fight became known in boxing history as "The Long Count." Tunney admitted that he was shaken during the knockdown, yet insisted that he could have beaten a regular count of ten. Dempsey stated that he just wanted to get on with the fight and kill the "S.O.B."

The earnings from these two fights, alone, made Tunney a millionaire. He married Polly Lauder, niece of Carnegie, the great benefactor. They had four children.

Tunney had one more fight, when he defeated Tom Heeney, in 1928. He became the first heavyweight champion to leave the ring as champion and remain retired.

Gene Tunney had brain as well as brawn. He was comfortable in the company of literary people, counting G. B. Shaw and E. Hemingway among his friends. He became a successful businessman. Gene died in 1978.

The family have kept up the links with Kiltimagh, over the years. Gene Tunney Jnr. unveiled the Sheridan Memorial, in Bohola, on May 22nd1966. Later he called to the ancestral home, in Gurthgarve. Seven years later, Jay, a shipping magnate, visited Kiltimagh. This was followed the following year by a visit form John. He had been staying with Ted Kennedy, in Co. Galway, in John Houston's home. On that occasion, Mrs. Cora Flynn, a cousin of John Tunney, entertained her distinguished visitor at Thornton House, Kiltimagh.

In more recent years, members of the next generation of the Tunneys have called on their cousins, in Kiltimagh. The Kiltimagh connection will be sure to flourish in the future.

GENE TUNNEY The fighting Marine
   
BORN NEW YORK - USA - MAY 25 1898
DIED NOVEMBER 7, 1978
HEIGHT 6'0 1\2
WEIGHT 155 - 192 lbs
RECORD WON 65 (47 Kos) LOST 1 DRAWN 19
  WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
  1926 - 1928

For more information on Gene Tunney please go to:
http://www.genetunney.org/

For more information on Irish Boxing go to:
http://www.irish-boxing.com/

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