In sunshine or in shadow: how boxing brought hope in the Troubles

Multi-award-winning author Donald McRaes stunning new book is a powerful tale of hope and redemption across the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland - thanks to boxing.

At the height of the Troubles, Gerry Storey ran the Holy Family gym from the IRAs heartland territory of New Lodge in Belfast.

Despite coming from a family steeped in the Republican movement, he insisted that it would be open to all.

He ensured that his boxers were given a free pass byparamilitary forces on both Republican and Loyalistsides, so they could find a way out of the provinces desperate situation.

In the immediate aftermath of the 1981 Hunger Strikes, Storey would alsovisit the Maze prison twice a weekto train the inmates from each community, separately.

In itself, this would be a heroic story, but Storey went further than that: he became the trainer for world champion Barry McGuigan and OlympianHugh Russell, who became one of the most famous photographers to document the Troubles.

Even with all his success and the support of both sides, Storey still found himself subjected to three bomb attacks from those who were implacably hostile to any form of reconciliation.He also worked with the Protestant boxer Davy Larmour, who fought two bloody battles in the ring against Russell, his Catholic friend.

At the same time, in Derry, the British and European lightweight champion Charlie Nash fought without bitterness after his brother was killed and his father was shot on Bloody Sunday the most infamous day of the conflict.

Now, Donald McRae reveals the extraordinary taleof those troubled times.After years of research and intimate interviews with the key characters in this story, he shows us how the violent business of boxing became a haven of peace and hope for these remarkable and compassionate men.

In Sunshine or in Shadow is an inspirational story of triumph over adversity and celebrates the reconciliation that can take place when two fighters meet each other in the ring, rather than outside it.