While researching the life of Jim Driscoll, I came across an advert in a newspaper shortly after Jim’s funeral: “Jim Driscoll’s life story in his own words starting next week only in ‘The World’s Pictorial News'” – this triggered an exciting new research quest – was it possible that he had written an autobiography which had been serialised in a now obscure journal?
This book is a recreation of those 16 articles written by the journalist and boxing referee Charles Barnett. His close friendship with Driscoll, and his journalistic methods of recall and reporting enabled him to recount conversations and situations he had shared with Driscoll over the years, quoting the things he had said and reporting situations as if he himself had been present.
It provides a unique insight into the life and times of Driscoll, but being a contemporary record, there are often references to people or situations which would have been familiar to the readership at the time but no longer have the benefit of their background being known. To help overcome this, I have found and included some newspaper articles which describe the situations, people and events Barnett references to provide more context to his articles.
Copyright (c) Philip Burns 2025
Published by St David’s Press
ISBN: Paperback: 978-1-904609-xx-x / eBook: 978-1-904609-xx-x