Eason Sports Book of the Year, in association with Ireland AM

Shortlist 2022

Kellie by Kellie Harrington

Kellie

By Kellie Harrington with Roddy Doyle

After Kellie Harrington won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the Irish public recognized her as not merely a sporting hero, but a deeply inspirational human being. Now, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely journey to the top, and of the many obstacles and setbacks she overcame along the way.

 Growing up in Dublin’s north inner city, Kellie was in danger of going down the wrong path in life before she discovered boxing. The local boxing club was all-male and initially wouldn’t let her join, but she persisted.

She was not an overnight success. For years she struggled in international competition. At times she felt unsupported by the national boxing set-up. More than once she considered giving up the sport. But some spark of ambition and love for boxing kept her going, and gradually she made herself world class.

Writing with Roddy Doyle, the award-winning author of The Commitments, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely rise to greatness and her continuing commitment to living a normal life – which has involved remaining an amateur boxer and keeping the job she loves, at a Dublin psychiatric hospital. She shares exceptionally vivid and revealing details about being a woman in a historically male sport, and about how she manages her body and her mind. It is a vastly inspiring look inside the life and psychology of a woman who is both brilliantly ordinary and utterly exceptional.

 

About Kellie Harrington with Roddy Doyle...

Kellie Harrington was born in 1989 and grew up in Dublin’s north inner city. She has won gold as a 60kg boxer at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Roddy Doyle is the Booker Prize-winning author of many celebrated works of fiction, and co-author of Roy Keane’s bestselling The Second Half.

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