John McNally Cause Of Death: How Did Boxer John McNally Die?

John McNally, Ireland’s first ever Olympic boxer and the country’s third overall Olympic medalist, has died at the age of 89. His cause of death is currently undisclosed.

The West Belfast native, who was only 19 at the time, won silver in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, losing a 2-1 split decision against Pentti Hämäläinen of Finland in the 54kg (bantamweight) final.

McNally won all three of his fights en route to the final — against Alejandro Ortuose of the Philippines, Vincenzo Dall’osso of Italy, and Kang Joon-ho of South Korea, respectively — by unanimous decision.

On October 25, 2007, the Sports Council of Northern Ireland honoured John McNally for his contributions to Irish sport during a gala ceremony held at Stormont in Belfast.

At an awards night held in Dublin’s National Stadium on January 4, 2008, RTÉ’s Jimmy Magee inducted John McNally into the Irish Boxing Hall of Fame. Appletree Press has produced a biography of McNally’s life and career.