Bernard Dunne has gone back to finish unfinished business – not in the ring, but in the classroom.
The former world champion revealed on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that he received his Leaving Cert Irish result last week, having decided to sit the exam again at the age of 46.
Irish was the only subject he failed when he first did the Leaving Cert. It clearly never sat well with him.
“It was nearly as bad as doing the world title fight, to be honest,” Dunne said, drawing a straight line between the pressure of the exam hall and the heat of championship nights.
He explained that the decision came late and suddenly. “I needed to put that right and at the age of 46 I decided, a week before the exam, that I was going to do it.”
No long build-up. No extended training camp. Just a late call and a promise to himself.
Dunne had been on the programme to talk about Katie Taylor’s proposed Croke Park fight, praising her as a trailblazing role model for the next generation of athletes. At the end of the interview, the tables turned and he was the one being congratulated – this time for stepping back into an arena that once caught him out.
“Thankfully, we were able to survive a couple of low blows and get through it,” he added, leaning on the language of his old trade to describe a very different kind of test.
A world title on one line of the CV. A hard-earned Irish result on another. Different stages, same fighter.
