Here to learn and contribute to the sport, regionally, nationally and internationally.

In December of 2019 I attended my first training session with what was then the local Dublin club of Medieval Armoured Combat Ireland. From that very early moment, I immediately felt like I had found the one sport I had been looking for my entire life, which had evaded me until that point, but now had been finally discovered. I knew right then that I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could and get as involved to whatever extent I would be welcomed to.

There were two training sessions per week, one in a Dublin boxing gym and the other in a training space in my hometown of Tallaght and I attended as many of those as my working hours would permit. Then Covid-19 hit and those opportunities abruptly ended with the social lockdowns that followed. The sport in Ireland suffered major setbacks and the Dublin club, as it had been, was decimated. Understandably, many people fell away from it for personal reasons, but our club captain, David Maher, kept it alive during those long dark months of lockdown. He organised online training sessions to available members and as soon as outdoor training was allowed he held sessions in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Slowly, the club was reconstituted and became, in time, Fragarach Armoured Combat.

Upon the core membership that had continued through the lockdowns, David Maher built Fragarach week by week and month by month. He encouraged his acolytes to attend national training sessions held by Medieval Armoured Combat Ireland, invariably hosted by the Athenry 1316 Medieval Fight Club. Along with a number of Fragarach, 1316 and Knights of Munster members, I availed of an opportunity to learn about marshalling under the expert tutelage of Jack Pinson in 2022, whose experience of international marshalling and depth of knowledge of the sport is second to none in Ireland. Although an absolute novice, I was honoured to continue to learn from him during the Claregalway Shield that same year, where I was given the opportunity to assist with weapons checks and act as a score counter for duels and, surprisingly, to assist him in his role of Knight Marshal as a field marshal during an 11V11 Buhurt fight. There were other excellent and experienced marshals present during this event, and a lot was learned from them all, but especially Brian Maloney and Niall Murray. The club continued to train up to the end of 2022 and Fragarach continued to grow.

In 2023, I again had the honour of assisting the Knight Marshal of the Claregalway Shield, this time the very talented Mary George, with weapons checks and score counting both for duels and for pro-fights. Once again Jack Pinson, Brian Maloney and Muireann Costello were present to lead the way and teach by example, but so too were two very experienced Canadians, Michaela Crump and Canadian Knight Marshal William Betcha. Once again I was fortunate to assist the Knight Marshal in the list as a field marshal, this time during a 21V21 Buhurt fight.

Fragarach outgrew its previous training venue and we relocated to the Aughrim Street Scout Den in Dublin. From this location we continue to welcome members from across the province of Leinster. I had the privilege of joining our national committee as Equipment Officer and was fortunate to be able to get involved in the process of growing the sport by assisting the numerous and important endeavours of Medieval Armoured Combat Ireland. I finally obtained my own armour and got to cut my teeth fighting in events in Dublin and national trainings in Claregalway and Athenry. I look forward to brighter times to come with some positive developments in the sport internationally and really hope I can gain more experience as a fighter and as a marshal in the years to come.