Matt Flanagan carried the Irish tricolour at the Opening Ceremony of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games before competing in the men’s heavyweight boxing, where he was knocked out at the end of the first round by Arturo Rodriguez Jurado of Argentina – the eventual gold medallist.

The silent count system used by the referee may have contributed to the outcome, as Flanagan was apparently unaware he had been counted out. His refereeing situation prompted the Irish Times to report that ‘If the count had been made aloud, there is little doubt that he could have resumed.’