Brendan Dunne competed in the men’s light-flyweight boxing at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, winning his opening bout when his Japanese opponent suffered a badly cut eye before being knocked out in the first round of his second contest. Irish light-flyweight champion, Dunne faced Puerto Rico’s Orlando Maldonando in his second bout and was floored by two explosive right hands to the side of his face. At the count of six he returned to his feet but the referee continued to count – a decision Dunne accepted without complaint: ‘I was badly shaken. The referee was right in continuing to count. I have no excuses.’

The Irish boxing team’s preparation for Montreal was limited to short-term training camps at Caherdaniel in Kerry and Drogheda under coach Gerry Storey