Freddie Gilroy won the bronze medal in boxing at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games in the bantamweight division.

Gilroy was from the Ardoyne area of Belfast and began boxing at the St John Bosco Amateur Boxing Club at the age of nine.

Career highlights include defeating Soviet champion Boris Stepanov by knockout and Italy’s Mario Sitri on his way to the Olympic semi-finals in 1956. After turning professional, he won the British Empire and European bantamweight titles in 1959 and challenged for the world bantamweight title in 1960 before retiring in 1962 following a celebrated bout with fellow Belfast Olympian John Caldwell.