Gerard Gibbons

Joined by my Montana cousins, we wound our way from the village of Westport across the verdant countryside — all of it a deeper green than even L. Frank Baum could have envisioned for the Emerald City of Oz. We were on the hunt for the stone church at Partry.

In 1959, James Baldwin, acclaimed American novelist and essayist, wrote in “The Discovery of What It Means Be an American” that a writer, in order to achieve a breakthrough, very often has to leave this country. For Baldwin in the ‘50s, it was Paris. For me, spring of 2022, it was Ireland.

When an underprivileged boxer succeeds against overwhelming odds, insurmountable obstacles, and at enormous personal costs, the hopes of everyone are buoyed that success is there for the striving. Boxing heroes are the embodiment of the American Dream. They are also inspiration for the worldwide faithful who dream the impossible.

As Adam raged against temptation, as Cain slew Abel, as David faced Goliath, as The Iliad heroes brutally sparred, as Jack Johnson met the “Great White Hope” in 1910 over color and crown, humankind has always burned with desire so hot it must be battled over. And so we war!