Joseph "Jack" Doyle[1] (31 August 1913 – 13 December 1978), known as "the Gorgeous Gael", was an Irish boxer, professional wrestler, actor, and a tenor.

In the early to mid-1930s he would attempt to launch both singing and acting careers, but was pulled back into the world of boxing only to be humiliated in a number of first-round knockouts.

[6] Doyle himself left school at 12 years of age and like his father, mostly found work on Cobh's docks.

[7] It was also whilst in Wales that Doyle excelled at boxing and became famed for his strong hooks that won him the British Army Championship.

[1][7] Doyle turned professional in 1932 and quickly notched up 10 consecutive victories, all inside two rounds, making him one of the most popular young boxers of the time.

I did not want to disappoint the tens of thousands who were waiting for the ‘match of the century’, not just the huge crowd who watched, remember, but the peoples of Britain and Ireland.

[1][7][6] In either case, a panicked Doyle seemed to come the conclusion he was overmatched in the fight and began repeatedly throwing low blows to his opponent.

A tenor, Doyle recorded a version of the song "Mother Machree", which sold extremely well (thanks in many parts to his already established fame).

Doyle returned to Ireland for a number of sold-out performances at the Theatre Royal, Dublin and Cork Opera House.

[6] At this time it was largely the version of the Irish public that Doyle had been the victim of Hibernophobia in England, and that his fight against Petersen had been unjust.

Although the film bombed at the box office,[7] Doyle travelled to Hollywood, California in the United States to further pursue an acting career.

[10] A fourth fight was scheduled for 25 August 1935 in Madison Square Garden, New York City against Buddy Baer.

[10] Allen heightened the melodrama from ringside as she reportedly screamed, fainted, revived and tore at her hair over the result.

[11] Doyle and Allen would star alongside each other in the 1937 American film Navy Spy, however, their relationship remained fraught and by 1938 the pair had brought divorcee proceedings against each other.

[1] Doyle fought twice more, gaining two victories including one over King Levinsky in a match that went to the judges' scorecards.

However, during a match against Eddie Phillips on September 27, 1938, Doyle swung wildly with a haymaker in the first round and missed entirely before barrelling out of the ring and into the press seats, where he was promptly counted out by the referee.

Doyle's drawing power had been supplemented by his January 1939 marriage in Baja California, Mexico to actress Movita Castaneda, recent co-star to Clark Gable in Mutiny on the Bounty,[1] which once-again fortified his persona as a playboy and international celebrity.

[14] The final match of note of Doyle's boxing career came on 11 June 1943, when he faced novice Irish boxer and farmer Chris Cole in Dublin's Dalymount Park.

Soon the pair toured both sides of the Irish Sea, selling out music halls and opera houses singing.

[15] Quickly after Movita left, Doyle continued to spiral out of control; He was imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin for knocking out a Garda Detective in a Ranelagh pub.

[3] Large crowds lined the streets of Cobh as the coffin led by a lone piper and topped with Jack's trademark - a red carnation - was brought on its last journey.

[23] The popular Irish song The Contender written by Jimmy MacCarthy around 1983 was a song about Jack Doyle,[24] and has been performed by many musicians including Finbar Wright, Christy Moore, Tommy Fleming and Paul McGrath (footballer) In the late 2010s Cork County Council had a number of debates over whether or not to build a statue honouring Doyle in his hometown of Cobh.

Councillors against the move cited the allegations of domestic violence against Doyle, in particular against his second wife Movita Castaneda.