Lifestyle & Sports
07 Sep 26

Musicians and creatives pay tribute to Katie Taylor following farewell fight

Credit: RTÉ

The Bray athlete finished her glittering career on Saturday facing an 80-thousand-people-strong crowd at Croke Park.

Tributes are pouring in following Katie Taylor’s final match, where she defeated French fighter Flora Pili in front of over 80 thousand people at Croke Park, and became a three-time undisputed champion.

It marked the first boxing event at Croke Park since Muhammad Ali famously fought there in 1972.

At the fight's peak, a knockout 1.6 million viewers tuned in to watch Round 10, while over half a million viewers watched on RTÉ Player, RTÉ reports. It accumulated an average of 973,000 viewers, representing a 74% share of the available viewing audience.

In an Instagram post, Westlife, who headlined the evening, shared photos of their performance and thanked Taylor “for having us and for everything you’ve done for Ireland!”

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Aoife Scott, who sang the national anthem on Saturday with Róisín O, called the opportunity “a dream and an honour.

“She was just so incredible to watch and to sing for,” Scott added. “We were truly blessed to have been invited to be part of such a historic night.”

Róisín O, meanwhile, said that the performance was “one of those moments I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” and added that Taylor “has meant so much to Irish sport and to Ireland.”

The other performers on the night, The Mary Wallopers, thanked Taylor and called her a “legend,” as well as characterising the night as “electrifying.”

Steo Wall also shared his emotion regarding the fight, writing “not a dry eye in the house last night.

“What a career, what a legacy and what an absolutely iconic ending. Take a bow Katie Taylor you’ve completed the game. Greatest there ever was.”

Poet Laura Murphy also offered a stirring tribute, writing: “When Katie Taylor began boxing, girls were not permitted to compete in Ireland, She entered the ring as KTaylor, concealing her gender so that she could fight.

“Last night, she entered Croke Park as herself. An unapologetic Irish woman.

“Katie has taken her place in the epic lineage of mná na hÉireann who refused the limits placed upon them,” Murphy continued.

“She didn’t ask to belong. She showed us that she did. She showed us that we do. She dared to dream, so we can too.

“Beir bua, Katie,” she concluded. “You rose, and a generation rose with you.”