What have Open champion Shane Lowry, former Celtic striker John Hartson and multiple boxing world title winner Nonito Donaire got in common?
With online quizzes very much in vogue at the minute, it seemed an appropriate question to ask Paddy Barnes. The recently-retired Belfast boxer’s answer?
“They’ve all been guests on the number one podcast in Ireland, sorry the world. Who’s Joe Rogan?”
Mischief and likeability. It’s a mix that saw Barnes become a prominent personality in Northern Ireland sport, and it will no doubt serve him well in his new role as host of ‘PaddyCast’.
Launched last month with good friend Carl Frampton as his first guest, it has been keeping the 32-year-old busy during lockdown.
“I had planned it before lockdown and was aiming to meet up face-to-face with Irish Olympians, but obviously I haven’t been able to do that,” he explained.
“So I’ve just been messaging people to ask them to come on, and thankfully they have. I’ve had great guests on and have really enjoyed hearing their stories.
“I don’t have a big budget or a team of people working on it, apart from a friend who helps me. I’m just in my kitchen with a packet of biscuits and a few tea bags.”
Enjoying ‘never having to make weight again’
A two-time Olympic bronze medallist, Barnes retired in November, having lost to Jay Harris in a flyweight bout at the Ulster Hall on 11 October.
It was a third loss in four contests for the west Belfast man, who fought nine times during three years as a professional after a distinguished amateur career.
He won gold medals while competing for Northern Ireland at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, and represented Ireland at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
“People ask me if I miss it and I don’t know yet, because it feels to me like I retired very recently,” he explained when asked about life after retiring as a boxer.
“I really am enjoying never having to make weight again. I think I would probably miss boxing more if I felt I had more to give, but in my training camp for my last fight I knew my body was slowing down.
“I no longer had what it takes for the top level. It was an easy decision for me to make because you have people in sport who continue beyond their best years and end up ruining their legacy.”
And, for clarity, as if these sentiments do not already suggest as much, Barnes is categoric on the possibility of a comeback.
“Definitely not,” he said. “I love boxing and wish I could still do it, but I’m a realist – my time was up. My weight division is all about speed and I had lost mine. If I went back I’d only be kidding myself.”
Working from home and helping with schoolwork
Setting up and hosting his own podcast is far from the only thing that is keeping Barnes busy since retiring from boxing, and particularly so during the current coronavirus lockdown.
Less than a week after announcing his retirement, he took up a new job with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) as club development officer for Ulster.
Like many, he has been working from home during lockdown while at the same time trying to help out with his children’s schoolwork.
“It’s different now having a proper job with the IABA, an office job,” said Barnes, who has also become a mental health ambassador for Sport NI since retiring.
“But I’ve always been very passionate about amateur boxing. It’s been my life and this role allows me to give something back to the system that I came through.
“I’m giving clubs guidance on a range of issues such as development and the structure of the club, as well as helping them with funding and governance.
“It came out of the blue, really, when my friend and fellow boxer Tyrone McKenna messaged me about the job description during the training camp for my last fight. When I went for the interview, I felt I was well suited for the job and it turns out I was.
“It’s difficult at the moment, obviously, trying to work from home. It can be crazy at times with the kids here and you are trying to help them do their work, but I’m trying as best I can.”
Olympics delay ‘disheartening’ but could help Irish boxers
As a two-time Olympic bronze medallist and having carried the Ireland flag at the Rio Games in 2016, Barnes is well placed to gauge the impact on the Irish boxers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being postponed until next year.
While fully understanding the difficulties it will have created, he does believe there could be some positives for the Irish team given its age profile.
“Obviously it is very, very disheartening because you wait every four years for the biggest tournament and then it is pushed back a year. I’m sure they are all gutted,” he added.
“The likes of Brendan Irvine had already qualified and I’m sure he was worried whether that would stand, but thankfully it has.
“It never happened to me, obviously, but with the qualifier tournament postponed it could give our boxers the chance to step back, refocus and train towards the tournament.
“One thing I would say is that the Irish boxing team is very young. In another year they will be more mature and stronger, so there could be positives for the team from the delay.”
