The next round of fisticuffs between Bobby McGuire’s Fire Department of New York [FDNY] squad and the Garda Siochana is scheduled for June 13 at St. Camillus Church, 99-15 Rockaway Beach Blvd in Rockaway, Queens.
The first fight in the ninth annual “Thrilla at Camilla,” an outdoor event, begins at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.
Garda fighters on the night include Eoin O’Connor, Darragh Gilroy and Shauna Kearney, against some of the FDNY’s most experienced pugilists.
In one of his last encounters with FDNY opposition, O’Connor bested Brooklyn firefighter Andrew Tanzi, who’d set aside his drum and kilt with the Emerald Society Pipes & Drums to don a pair of boxing gloves, at Dublin’s National Stadium in September 2023. This summer, the light heavyweight is matched against FDNY veteran James Gennari.
Gennari is a Staten Islander and six-year FDNY veteran. He serves Ladder Company 24 in midtown Manhattan and has some 30 fights on his ledger. A highlight of his career was winning a bronze medal at the World Police and Fire Games in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
In another light heavyweight bout, FDNY boxer and Rockaway resident Danny Quinn of Ladder 9 returns to action against the Garda’s Fin McKeown.
Gilroy, a middleweight, squares off with Sean Dillon, one of FDNY’s best boxers. In his last FDNY outing, Dillon outpointed the Garda’s Eoin O'Neill in the second annual International Battle of the Badges at Madison Square Garden last March.
Kearney, meanwhile, goes up against the seasoned Nicole Malpeso in a welterweight contest.
The “Thrilla at Camilla” card also includes other bouts pitting FDNY boxers against local fighters from the New York area.
Last March, cruiserweight Dan Hoolahan was the lone victor out of three Garda fighters matched against FDNY boxers in the second annual International Battle of the Badges at Madison Square Garden. The 27-year-old decisioned James Gennari, the former marine now with FDNYs’ Ladder Company 24 in midtown Manhattan.
