Offaly duo help tell the story of Katie Taylor’s historic final fight
With 83,000 packed into Croke Park for Katie Taylor's last fight on Saturday – and a further peak TV audience of 1.6 million watching on – there were two Offaly connections right at the heart of the action.
Boxer and Tullamore native Gráinne Walsh made her commentory debut for RTÉ 2fm at the fight, while multi-award-winning photographer James Crombie, originally from Westmeath but living with his family in Ballycommon, had a front-row seat with his camera as Taylor brought her glittering boxing career to a close with win over Flora Pili.
James Crombie was among those privileged to witness history from inside the ropes at the end of the fight, having spent almost two decades documenting Taylor's career.
With millions watching around the world, Taylor became a three-time undisputed world champion in her final professional fight.
For James, the significance of the occasion began long before Taylor entered the ring.
He spent the previous fortnight with the Bray boxer and her team, documenting the build-up to the final work night of Ireland’s best-known professional pugilist.
“I’ve been Katie’s photographer for the last two weeks, so I’ve been up with her in-camp all that time,” he said.
The access gave him an extraordinary insight into the preparations of an elite athlete as she approached the historic contest.
“It was just amazing, to be sitting having dinner with Katie at the table at the house with five or six people, just two hours before she left for Croke Park, just something else,” he said.
The journey to the stadium was equally memorable. James travelled as part of Taylor’s cavalcade, which included two blacked-out Mercedes vehicles. He was in the second car, while Taylor travelled in the first.
“To get a police escort into the tunnel in Croke Park is something I’d never experienced,” he recalled.
Before the fight, James had been granted unprecedented access to Taylor and her team. He was in the dressing room for the hours leading up to her ring walk, witnessing the preparation, the concentration and tension that surrounded the final moments before she stepped into the ring.
“I usually do team photography, 26 players and their coaches. This was just her and her coach. It’s all focused on one person. To be around that is so inspiring,” he said.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Gráinne Walsh – who represented Ireland at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and earned a bronze medal at the world championships in Liverpool last September – took to social media last Sunday morning to say Katie was the reason she first took up boxing in Tullamore.
Gráinne, who is currently recovering after Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction of her right knee in May, said: “Katie Taylor inspired me at 16 years-old to put on a pair of gloves. Here she is, 14 years later still inspiring so many people across the world.
“To have the opportunity to commentate for my first time on Katie’s last fight was an incredible experience and one I’ll always remember.
“Thank you to RTÉ 2fm and all the crew for making me feel so welcome. Amazing to share the experience with you all.
“I loved being involved in the media build-up this week. It was the most insane ending to the most insane career from Ireland's greatest ever athlete,” Gráinne added.