The British Isles have spawned countless legends, past and present, in the world of professional wrestling. And while most of the names are usually associated with the United Kingdom’s England or Scotland, the emerald isle of Ireland (divided into the UK’s Northern Ireland and the independent Republic of Ireland) has had its share of pro wrestling names to grace the history books and hearts of pro wrestling fans alike. Vince McMahon Jr., the 72-year old billionaire owner of the WWE, himself is of Irish heritage, going back to his great-grandparents Roderick and Elizabeth McMahon, had emigrated to New York City in the late 1800s from Ireland to open a hotel and start a new life. Their son, Roderick “Jess” McMahon started Capitol Wrestling with Toots Mondt in 1952 (after nearly 20 years as a boxing and wrestling promoter), passing it on to his own son, Vince McMahon Sr., in 1954 upon his death. Vince Sr. would change the name to World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963, renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and ultimately sold to Vince McMahon Jr. in 1982. But Irish wrestling and wrestlers have always captivated the world of pro wrestling, with World Champions both male and female. Here’s a brief look at the past, present and future of Irish wrestling.
DANNO O’MAHONEY, County Cork, Northern Ireland (1912-1950)
Danno O’Mahoney was an amateur boxer and grappler who was brought to America in 1934 by Boston promoter Paul Bowser to face Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Despite losing the Best 2-out-of-3 Falls contest, Bowser was impressed, and soon O’Mahoney was facing the likes of other top US stars, such as Bronko Nagurski, Jim Londos, Lou Thesz and more. In 1935, he defeated Ed Don George for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (the Boston AWA, not Verne Gagne‘s AWA that would arise later on), which unified with Jim Londos’ New York championship, became the undisputed World Champion with the National Wrestling Association (a precursor to the National Wrestling Alliance, who unified their title with this one in 1949, when Association Champion Lou Thesz defeated Alliance champion Orville Brown). Like many celebrities during the Second World War, O’Mahoney joined the army and fought, returning the squared circle upon his return. He moved back to Ireland in 1950, but just five weeks later, he was involved in a terrible car crash that left him fatally wounded. He died from his injuries at just 38 years old. Perhaps O’Mahoney’s best known contribution to the world of pro wrestling was his signature move of throwing his opponents into the ropes, which was named “The Irish Whip” in his honor, as well as being the first ever Irish World Champion. A statue dedicated to O’Mahoney still stands in his hometown.
STEVE “CRUSHER” CASEY, Sneem, Republic of Ireland (1908-1987)
A bare-knuckles boxer and outstanding rower, Steve Casey actually qualified for the British rowing team for the 1936 Olympics, but was disqualified by the Olympic committee for competing because he had professional status in another sport – he’d been a pro wrestler for several months already. Much like Danno O’Mahoney, Casey made his way to America to continue his pro wrestling career, brought over to Boston by Paul Bowser. In 1938, Casey defeated Lou Thesz for the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship, and would become the winningest World Champion for Bowser’s Boston based AWA, winning the World title a record six times. He retired from the sport early, at the age of 38 in 1947, and opened a liquor store and bar in the Boston area. He passed away in 1987 at the age of 78. Like his fellow Irish World Champion O’Mahoney, Casey also received a statue in his hometown.
PAT BARRETT, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Dublin’s Paddy Barrett debuted in 1960, moving to the United States in 1963 to continue his wrestling career with the NWA, where he found success as the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He also wrestled heavily in the NWA’s Canadian territories, most notably with Vancouver’s All Star Wrestling and Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling. In 1975, he headed to the WWWF, where he entered a short feud with WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino, before turning to tag team wrestling. He held his only WWWF gold as WWWF World Tag Team Champion alongside Dominic DeNucci. He retired in 1985 at the age of 44, where he continued to work as a trainer.
FRANK HOY, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland (1934-2005)
Frank Hoy spent much of his life in Scotland, but he was born and raised in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. Debuting in 1970, he was a top star heel in Europe, especially on World of Sports throughout the 70s. Billed as “Black” Angus Campbell, he portrayed a rough and tumble Highlander who would fit a mold made famous by American wrestler Bruiser Brody. He also wrestled for the NWA, primarily with Central States Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling, as well as tours in Japan with All Japan. He retired in 1982 at the age of 48, becoming a park ranger in his adopted homeland of Scotland. He died in 2005 at the age of 70.
FIT FINLAY, Glynn, Northern Ireland
David “Fit” Finlay was born to be a pro wrestler – his family on either generational side are in the sport. But none have made the impact that Fit Finlay has. His father, David Finlay Sr., was a pro wrestler in the UK during the 1950s and 60s, but retired in 1970 to become a trainer instead. Fit Finlay was one of his pupils, and debuted in the UK scene in 1974 and soon became of Ireland (and the UK’s) top stars on World of Sport Wrestling. In 1991, he began working with NJPW, competing in the Top of the Super Juniors (the precursor to the Best of the Super Juniors tournament), where he faced the likes of Owen Hart, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. In 1996, he made his first full fledged run in North America, when he joined WCW. Following WWE’s purchase of WCW in 2001, Finlay was transitioned into a trainer for the WWE, and ultimately became the head producer for the Divas/Women’s Division. In 2004, he began a comeback on WWE TV that lasted until 2010. Although he still works for the WWE as a road agent and producer, he continues to make appearances around the world at indie events.
VELVET McINTYRE, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Born in Dublin, Ireland, original Irish Lasskicker Velvet McIntyre‘s family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where she developed her love for professional wrestling. She trained with Sandy Barr in nearby Oregon before debuting with Vancouver’s All Star Wrestling in 1981. After working for Stampede Wrestling, AWA and other NWA territories, she joined the WWF in 1984 and immediately became a top challenger for the WWF Women’s Championship. Alongside Princess Victoria, she was a WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion, and finally won the WWF Women’s title in 1986. In her final years, she helped Vancouver’s ECCW establish it’s women’s division, before retiring in 1998.
FINN BALOR, Bray, Republic of Ireland
Fergal Devitt made his pro wrestling debut in 2002, starting off with the now defunct NWA Hammerlock UK promotion. He spent four years working the UK circuit before signing with NJPW in 2006, where he was renamed Prince Devitt. The smaller, athletic Devitt thrived in his eight years in Japan, as a 6x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (four as part of Apollo 55 with Ryusuke Taguchi) as well as a 3x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. But arguably his most famous moment in New Japan was forming Bullet Club in 2013 with his bodyguard, “The Underboss” Bad Luck Fale, “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson and “Bad Boy” Tama Tonga. In 2014, he signed with the WWE and began with NXT as Finn Balor, holding the NXT Championship for 292 days, before heading to the main roster and Monday Night Raw in 2016. In his early weeks on Raw, he became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion.
BECKY LYNCH, Limerick, Republic of Ireland
A protege of Finn Balor in NWA Hammerlock UK, Becky Lynch began wrestling in 2002 at the age of 15. She worked the UK indie scene for several years, before moving to Canada in 2005 to begin working for Vancouver’s ECCW, where she worked with the likes of LuFisto, Nicole Matthews and WWE Hall of Famer Ivory. While living in North America, she also worked with the likes of SHIMMER, as well as still competing with other UK indies. She finally signed with the WWE in 2013, debuting with NXT. She soon became part of NXT’s Four Horsewomen, alongside three other new women’s recruits in Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley, joining Flair and Banks on the main roster in 2015 as part of the Women’s Revolution. She was crowned the inaugural Smackdown Women’s Champion in 2016.
SHEAMUS, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Arguably the most successful mainstream Irish wrestler of all time, Dublin’s Sheamus began his career in 2004 as Sheamus O’Shaunessy with Dublin’s Irish Whip Wrestling. Only four years later, he was signed by the WWE and has been a WWE Superstar for the past decade. In his rookie year on the main roster, Sheamus did the unthinkable, defeating John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at TLC ’09, just months after debuting. He would win it a second time months after losing it in spring of 2010, making him a 2x WWE World Champion within his first year. Sheamus has since gone on to become a 3x WWE World Champion, 2x WWE United States Champion and a 4x WWE Tag Team Champion (all four of those Tag Team titles came in the last year alongside Cesaro in The Bar).
KILLIAN DAIN, Belfast, Northern Ireland
“The Beast of Belfast” got his start in 2005, trained at NWA Scotland by former UK wrestler (and now NXT trainer) Robbie Brookside. For over a decade, Damian O’Connor, aka “Big Damo“, ravaged the UK wrestling circuits, working with the likes of PROGRESS, ICW, RevPro, OTT and many more. When WhatCulture launched WCPW (now Defiant Wrestling), Damo was one of the promotions early stars, winning the WCPW World Heavyweight Championship. The former ICW World Heavyweight Champion finally signed with WWE in 2016, debuting as the new enforcer for Eric Young‘s SaNitY faction named Killian Dain, where he continues to become one of NXT’s biggest stars.
DAVID FINLAY, Republic of Ireland
David Finlay III, the son of Fit Finlay, has emerged as one of the young stars in NJPW. Although born in Germany (his mother is German), Finlay was raised in Northern Ireland with his father’s family. He made his debut on the UK indies in 2012 before being accepted as a Young Boy in 2015 to continue his training. After becoming a Young Lion and working NJPW’s live events, he became one of the few Young Lions not to be sent on international excursions to continue his training. Instead, he remained with NJPW and became only the second Young Lion, behind Shinsuke Nakamura, to win NJPW gold as a Young Lion, when he won the NEVER 6-Man Tag Team titles alongside Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima in 2016. He continues to work with NJPW.
JORDAN DEVLIN, Bray, Republic of Ireland
One of Ireland’s undeniable faces of the future, Jordan Devlin hails from Finn Balor’s hometown of Bray, County Wicklow. While he’s only 27, don’t let his youthful appearance fool you. He’s been wrestling since he was 12 years old. Trained by Finn Balor, he debuted with Pro Wrestling ZERO1 Ireland in 2006, working his way throughout the UK indies, such as ICW and RevPro. In 2014, he debuted with Ireland’s own OTT, working his way through the ranks where he’s now the current reigning OTT World Champion. In 2017, he signed with the WWE as part of their UK division, and still makes appearances for the WWE, most recently at a WWE Live Event in Dublin last November.
KINGS OF THE NORTH (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin), Northern Ireland
Ireland’s most dominant faction, Kings of the North, is lead by the menacing duo of Lisburn, Northern Ireland’s Bonesaw (another Balor trainee) and Belfast’s Damien Corvin – the duo are 2x OTT Tag Team Champions, with reigns of 308 and 413 days respectively, in the past two and half years. The duo is also occasionally joined by another Belfast bruiser, in 20-year veteran Dunkan Disorderly. The Kings of the North have dominated Ireland for years, but now look to expand deeper into the booming UK scene, in PROGRESS, ICW, IPW:UK and Defiant Wrestling.
MARTINA THE SESSION MOTH, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Perhaps one of Ireland’s fastest growing stars, “The Session Moth” Martina has become a sensation on the British Isles, as the current OTT Women’s Champion as well as OTT Gender Neutral Champion, facing men as often as women. She debuted in 2011 and has made an impact everywhere she’s wrestled, from OTT to PROGRESS, from ICW to Germany’s wXw. She recently added the ICW Women’s Championship to her resume, and the always entering Martina is heading to Stardom in a few weeks to make her Japanese debut.
