- They abide by certain rules in their fighting:
- the referee is from a neutral family, so he doesn't have any bias
- Nobody else from the family turns up, incase a big gang fight kicks off
- Boxers are not allowed to headbutt, kick, bite or a hit a man when he is down.
- Some fights have had a purse of up to £180,000
- Each family equaly comes up with half the fight purse
SNATCH
One of my favourite films as well, if you haven't seen it yet, watch it!
"You like degs?"
KNUCKLE
A 12 year documentary following two rival traveller clans who take part in bare knucle fights to resolve or even rekindle, their feuds. The two rival families are the Quinn's and The Joyce's. One of he main characters in the documentary is James Quinn McDonagh who's somewhat of a legend in these circles and the head of the Quinn family. He had the title of "king of the gypsies" for a while, you can see him in the video below.
"Drinking last night, fighting this morning, doesn't give a damn!"
They send out videos calling each other out.^^
Interesting comment on a youtube video :
"joe joyce and his family and all belonging to him are good for nothing tramps joe joyce ya druggy bastard go and get urself a coffin ya wrinkly bastard full sure ur the man handicap ur good for nothin the sooner u get off the drugs the sooner u realise it before u get urself killt UP THE MCDONAGHS NEVER BET AND NEVER WILL BE
Here's an article from The Sun
DOWN a quiet country lane James Quinn Mcdonagh delivered another devastating blow to the all ready blackened face of his opponent.
Stumbling backwards a referee tells Paddy Lurch "you've had enough."
But family pride will not allow Paddy to accept defeat.
And so with his fists uncovered James hits his opponent again and again.
Only at the insistence of the two referees is Paddy finally persuaded to step away.
Welcome to the secret world of the illegal sport of bare-knuckle boxing.
An ancient form of combat where the only person who can throw in the towel is the boxer.
Bouts can go on for as long as three hours and there is no medical help when jaws get broken.
A sport where as much as £120,000 prize money can be at stake.
Legend
Bare-knuckle fighting turned James Quinn Mcdonagh into a legend among travellers living in middle of Ireland.
The 44-year-old traveller was unbeaten before retiring and is now the main focus of a fascinating documentary called Knuckle, which opens in cinemas next Friday.
But sitting now talking to him in London it is clear that James has turned his back on the violence.
He said: "When I fought Paddy Lurch, he refused to surrender.
"The referees stopped it three times and he said I am not beat.
"And the rules are the boxer has got to say he is beat, without a medic there and without the referees trained in first aid I think it is a dangerous, dangerous sport.
"I think it is only a matter of time before someone is killed."
For some travellers it is not a proper fight unless there are serious injuries.
James does not see it that way, but says: "I have seen injuries with fellas I fought have had 20 plus stitches.
"They have walked away from fights with broken noses and broken jaws.
"The only thing I ever suffered was a broken knuckle.
"The way I looked at it was hit and not be hit."
There are rules and it is important to have a "fair" fight.
Boxers are not allowed to head-butt, kick, bite or hit a man when he is down.
Brutal ... bloodied Quinn
After that Ian followed the Irish traveller fighters for another 12 years.
Few people get to see these fights first hand.
The venues are often kept secret even from the boxers and families so that large crowds don't gather.
Large crowds would draw the attention of the police and there is also a risk of spectators brawling.
The bare-knuckle fights are a traditional way of ending disputes between clans and no one wants those feuds to spill over.
The Quinn Mcdonagh's have been feuding with their cousins the Joyces and the Nevins for longer than they can remember.
Disputes
James said: "It was seen to be that fights were a good way to settle disputes.
"After a dispute between ourselves and the Nevins I took the fight on the condition it would settle the feud and it did for a while.
"At the start of my career I wasn't just fighting for my family name, but also hoping that it would be the last fight.
"I wanted it to end. I don't enjoy the bare-knuckle boxing because it was something I was forced in to.
"There has always got to be a challenger. I have never challenged for a fight. I had six fights over ten years and I won all of them."
James is now totally opposed to bare-knuckle fighting because he believes they cause problems.
He said:"Now, what is happening is that the fights are causing the feuds. The fights are keeping the feuds going."
James has two sons, Hughie, 19, and James Joseph, 24, and a grandson James.
He said: "I don't want him growing up with the violence."
While unemployed James, who used to be in the building and security business, wasn't badly injured during fights he was outside of the sport.
In May 1998 he was shot in the leg by five masked in a pub in Dundalk, close to the border with Northern Ireland.
But it is unclear whether that had anything to do with the feuding.
James said: "I was attacked in a Dundalk pub by five masked men.
"They shot me in the back of the leg.
"I have never known the reasons. No one has ever claimed responsibility."
The fall out with the Joyces flared up when one of their men was killed by one of James's relatives.
James explained: "I cannot remember where the feud kicked off, because it happened before my father's time.
"An incident happened in 1992 when a Joyce man was killed in London and a Quinn Mcdonagh went to prison for it.
"That opened up old wounds. Three years later another guy was killed. It has been simmering ever since."
Despite these tensions Quinns have married Joyces and Nevins and vice versa.
James said: "The feud is quiet at the moment and I would like to see it stay that way.
"No one in this day and age wants to see grown men going around like cavemen."
Director Ian, 48, got involved after he was asked to film the wedding of James's younger brother Michael in 1996.
The Dublin "country person," which is the traveller term from someone who is not one of their own, had studied film and felt they would be a great subject for a documentary.
'Thrilling'
The film maker, who worked alone, admits to finding the bare-knuckle bouts to be "thrilling."
Ian said: "The whole first experience was really thrilling. It was a real rush.
"It was very, very interesting and they were bright and charming."
But after nine years Ian began to view it to be a "pretty violent" activity and stopped recording.
Only when Michael asked him to video his big rematch with Paul Joyce in England in 2007 did his interest return.
For that fight both families had to put up a prize of £60,000 each.
Michael trained hard for the bout. He wanted to make up for losing against Paul in an earlier confrontation.
The 2007 fight ended in a draw so they both went home with their money and it helped to heal old wounds.
Ian, though, can't see things changing: "The feuds are part of traveller life, not just in Ireland and Britain but around the world.
"Almost always the feuds are between clans that are closely related. They fight and they marry."
This chronicle of bloody blood ties is so intriguing that there is talk of it being turned into a fictionalised television drama in the United States.
For James it is not glamorous. He was called The King of the Travellers due to his fighting successes, but didn't like the title.
He hopes that young travellers will choose to find glory in a proper boxing ring.
James recalled: "I did amateur boxing for a club in Dublin. I enjoyed the gloved boxing.
"I found this a sport I was comfortable with as a 14 year old and stuck with it."
He concluded: "I think the film sends out a message to young kids is if you want to get into bare-knuckle boxing - don't.
"Pursue that career in the ring, not at the side of a road.
"There are a lot of good young traveller boxers.
"It is a hard and lonely life by the side of the road."
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