Bernie Meli

The youngest member of the Irish boxing team at the Roma (Rome) Olympics was 20-year-old Bernie Meli. He won his opening light-welterweight contest before being outclassed and losing on a unanimous decision to the eventual gold medallist Bohumil Němeček of Czechoslovakia. Two years after the Roma (Rome) Games, Meli went to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Perth (Australia) but lost in the quarter-final to Canada’s eventual bronze medallist Harvey Reti.

Meli started boxing as a youngster and was the Ulster junior flyweight champion at the age of 14. A former fireman, Meli went on to win the senior Irish light-welterweight title three years in succession 1960-62. He also won three Ulster titles. Meli never turned professional, unlike his older brother Tom, who was a well-known Northern Ireland professional who won both the Ulster middle- and light-heavyweight titles in a 48-fight pro career. Another brother, Albert, was an international swimmer who also represented Ireland. Bernie retired from boxing in 1962 (apart from a very brief comeback six months later) and went to live in South Africa before later settling in Canada. He died in 2024, the day before his 84th birthday.