Erin Go Brawl!
Wrestlers of the Emerald Isle
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty
Whether you're an Irish lass looking for a kiss or a friendly fella happy to have a pint, it's time to celebrate the glory of the Emerald Isle as Saint Patrick's Day is here again! I've always had a lot of Irish pride—even as an entirely diluted fourth generation American. The Irish have always seemed to have a prominent role in professional wrestling, dating back to its infancy as a European sideshow in the 1830s. As Europe grew less hospitable during the 19th Century, Irish citizens flocked to America by the millions. By 1900 there were more than 4 million more Irish-Americans than there were in the 1830s. The fair-skinned strangers weren't well received, but contributed to the growth of the new nation nonetheless, laboring as cities were built and tracks were laid. The Irish also played a pivotal role in the growing popularity of professional wrestling, applying their previous knowledge to a growing demand in the �States. It's now more than 100 years later and Europe is in far better shape than before, yet Irish citizens continue to leave their luscious rolling hills in search of the American Dream. With two bright young talents working down in developmental with Dusty Rhodes, I think it's safe to say they found it!
My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and in honor of Saint Patrick's Day, I'd like to highlight EIGHT Irish Wrestlers in this adequately titled, "ERIN GO BRAWL!"
Pat Barrett
Pat Barrett was born on September 4th—which also happens to be MY birthday—1941 in Dublin, Ireland. He got his start in the business during the early 1960s wrestling under the name "Paddy Barrett," working around the Irish territories, before making his way to the United States in 1963. "Paddy" joined the National Wrestling Alliance where he became a 3-time NWA Canadian Wrestling Tag Team Champion, twice with Tom Geohagen and once with the "Mormon Giant" Don Leo Jonathan. In 1975 Barrett signed with Vince McMahon Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation and for the first time in history, competed under his given name. Pat Barrett went on to achieve tag team success once more when he was chosen as Dominic DeNucci's hand-picked substitute to hold the tag title left vacant by Victor Rivera. On May 15, 1975 Barrett took on the WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino, but failed to capture the gold when he was counted out of the match. Pat "Paddy" Barrett retired in 1985 after a return to the National Wrestling Alliance and a tour of countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. He currently lives near his hometown of Dublin where he's taken to competitive horseback riding, even earning a handful of championships in the process.
Velvet McIntyre
Velvet McIntyre was born in Ireland in 1961, but immediately uprooted to America upon graduating from high school in 1980. She moved to Oregon where she would learn at the feet of famed Golden Age performer Sandy Barr, making her official ring debut later that same year. Velvet began working for the NWA and began tagging with her former training partner Princess Victoria. The duo won the NWA Women's Tag Team titles, and held them until the WWF once again withdrew from the National Wrestling Alliance. Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria both moved on as part of the World Wrestling Federation, and were christened the inaugural WWF Women's Tag Team Champions on May 13th, 1983. Velvet would also achieve singles success when in 1986 she defeated her previous opponent from Wrestlemania 2—the Fabulous Moolah—for the WWF Women's Championship. Velvet was also part of the very first Survivor Series event, teaming with the Jumping Bomb Angels, among other babyfaces to take on Sherri Martel, the Glamour Girls, and other villainous heels. Velvet McIntyre left the WWF before the end of the �80s when the women's division ceased to be. She spent time on the independent circuit and retired in 1998 just before giving birth to twins.
Dave "Fit" Finlay
Dave Finlay's career began before anybody might have expected when his father—a promotor in Glynn, Northern Ireland—needed to fill a spot at the last second. This was just the start of what would ultimately become a 40+ year career beginning in 1974; Finlay worked around both North Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for four years before finally moving to England in 1978. In 1982, Finlay won his first championship—the British Heavy Middleweight title—with his then-wife, "Princess Paula," as his manager. While in the United Kingdom, Finlay began to develop the ruthless persona for which he's known today; a brawling character that caught the eye of promotions around the world in countries such as Japan, Germany, Austria and the United States. Dave Finlay signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1995 and debuted as the "Belfast Bruiser," a gimmick soon scrapped in favor of the bleached blonde Fit Finlay of 1998. Upon being repackaged, Finlay captured the WCW World Television Championship and even took top honors in the Junkyard Invitational at Bash at the Beach 1999. Finlay was signed by the WWF immediately after the fall of WCW where he began his tenure as a trainer, helping to mold stars of today such as Kurt Angle, CM Punk, and almost every WWE Diva. Finlay returned to television some years later and in 2006 became part of King Booker's court. Finlay is a former United States champion with the WWE and continues to work backstage in a variety of ways.
Steve Casey
Steve Casey was a multi-sport athlete born in 1908 who used his physical prowess to attain unrivaled success in both Irish sport rowing, as well as professional wrestling. A native of Sneem, Ireland in County Kerry, Casey was the eldest of seven sons belonging to bare knuckle brawler Mike Casey. Following a very competitive rowing career, Casey joined British Amateur Wrestling alongside his brother Paddy. He debuted less than a year later on March 3, 1936 and defeated the heavyweight champion in a non-title contest. Boston-area promotor Paul Bowser got wind of Casey's accomplishments and brought him State-side to compete for the National Wrestling Association—a precursor to the
Alliance
we now know by the letters NWA. On February 11, 1938 Steve Casey shocked the wrestling world when he defeated perennial champion Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight championship. When Casey returned to Ireland, the NWA stripped him of his championship, although he was still recognized as the world title holder by Boston's American Wrestling Association. He held onto the belt until he was beaten by Marvin Westenberg on March 2, 1939 in Boston, but managed to regain the gold after officially immigrating to the United States. While still AWA champion in 1942, Steve Casey joined the United States Army and served a full two years before returning home in 1944. Casey retired at the age of 38 in 1947 and later opened a liquor store in his adopted home town of Hull, Massachusetts. Steve Casey passed away on January 10, 1987 at the healthy-and-happy age of 78.
Sheamus
There has only been one Irish-born wrestler to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and that was Sheamus on December 13, 2009. Sheamus Farrelly was born on January 28, 1978 in Cabra, Dublin. After finishing college and working as an IT consultant, Sheamus followed his dream of becoming a professional wrestler and—at the encouragement of Bret "Hitman" Hart—enrolled at Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey. He would soon to become known as "The Irish Curse" Sheamus O'Shaunessy, a fan favorite that drew upon Celtic imagery such as swords and iron crosses. Sheamus returned home to Ireland in 2004 and worked for the newly established "Irish Whip Wrestling," where on March 28, 2005 he became the first-ever IWW International Heavyweight Champion. After a few years of enhancement work and failed try-outs, Sheamus finally signed with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2007 and worked down in Florida Championship Wrestling until 2009. Sheamus made his surprise main roster debut on an episode of ECW in June 2009, and soon went on to feud with established stars such as Goldust and Shelton Benjamin. Sheamus's ascent to the top of the WWE is historic as it took the "Celtic Warrior" just 166 days from his debut to win the most coveted prize in the company. Sheamus would lose the belt but would go on to enjoy additional accolades including another WWE title run, the World Heavyweight title, and the United States Championship. Sheamus was the last man to win the King of the Ring tournament in 2010, and in 2012 won the Royal Rumble match, allowing him to defeat Daniel Bryan for the world title in just eighteen seconds.
Becky Lynch
One of the newest additions to the WWE roster is NXT Diva Becky Lynch, otherwise known as Rebecca Knox. Becky was born on January 10th, 1987 in the City of Dublin, and began training for her professional career at just fifteen years old. She made her debut just five months later and began touring the Irish independents as well as the rest of Europe. She became a fixture in the France-based promotion Queens of Chaos, where she took home the world championship at nineteen. After touring other European and Japanese promotions and appearing extensively for German Stampede Wrestling, Rebecca Knox began working in Canada for SuperGirls Wrestling in 2005. She became the promotion's first-ever world champion and held the belt for nearly one year, before debuting with Shimmer in 2006. Later that year, Rebecca suffered a career-threatening head injury that nearly took her life and her passion for the business. After a five year hiatus from wrestling, Rebecca Knox returned to Shimmer as a manager for Saraya Knight and her daughter Britani AKA Paige. In 2013 Rebecca returned to in-ring action for the WWE, where she continues to compete in NXT as Becky Lynch.
Danno O'Mahony
Danno O'Mahony was born in Ballydehob in County Cork, Ireland on September 29, 1912. O'Mahony joined the Irish military in the early 1930s and proceeded to set military-records for athletics including both the "Hammer Throw" and the "56-lb Throw"—neither of which were broken until the �90s. Danno also earned a reputation for grappling and boxing, and soon arrived in the United States thanks to the same man that spotted Steve Casey—Paul Bowser. O'Mahony made his pro debut in 1934 against Ed "The Strangler" Lewis, but lost the match in less than five minutes. Following the loss, Bowser "repackaged" his prize fighter and set him on a 49-match winning streak that would ultimately lead to a world championship bout against Jim Londos. After what seemed to be months of political conflict, the match between O'Mahony and Londos was finally scheduled, and took place at Fenway Park on June 27, 1935. Danno O'Mahony defeated Jim Londos for the New York Sports Athletic Commission World Title, in an upset that humbled O'Mahony to the true nature of the sport. He enjoyed a series of successful title defenses before winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 30, 1935—a victory that would unify the belts and lead to a rematch marking O'Mahony's 70th straight win. After retiring from the ring, O'Mahony moved to Los Angeles where he ran a restaurant and served in the United States Army during the Second World War. Danno O'Mahony is famous—not just as the first Irish-born NWA champion—but as the innovator of the Irish Whip. He returned to Ireland in 1950, but sadly died in a car crash just five weeks after arriving home.
Finn Balor
Perhaps the most charismatic individual down in WWE's developmental right now is Finn Balor AKA Prince Devitt. Balor was born Fergal Devitt in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland on July 25th, 1981. Devitt began training with NWA UK Hammerlock in 2000 and within a matter of months won the British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship. His association with NWA UK led to the creation of NWA Ireland, a promotion owned by Devitt and Paul Tracey. Devitt started training other wrestlers at the just 21 years old, and helped develop a "Who's Who" of Irish-born independent talent including NXT Diva Becky Lynch. Devitt remained loyal to the NWA until 2006 when he signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling and debuted under the name "Prince Devitt." Devitt made invaluable contributions to NJPW during his time, which helped the promotion escape the slump of the mid-2000s so that they could enjoy the success of the present-day. While partnered with Ryusuke Taguchi as "Apollo Go Go" Devitt captured four IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, and helped redefine the Junior Tag Division. Devitt would eventually turn on his long-time partner in favor of aligning with detestable Geijin heels like Karl Anderson. As the "Real Rock �n' Rolla," Devitt led the Bullet Club for a year while wearing the highly prized IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On May 15, 2014 it was reported that Fergal Devitt signed with the WWE and would soon report to NXT at Full Sail University. Since debuting as Finn Balor, Devitt has not disappointed; unlike an array of other wrestlers brought in from the indies, every nuance of Devitt's delivery is still intact. Devitt made his NXT Takeover debut on December 11, 2014—wearing his patented body paint—and showed the world why he's one of the best Ireland has to offer.
Get a glass of Guinness and celebrate the season with all the potatoes you can eat! Slainte! Until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty reminding you to keep checking out Cheap-Heat and to follow me on Facebook by LIKING "Mark Haggerty's Pro Wrestling."
