There are a great many people that I want to thank for their help inspiring me to set about these works as well as producing and promoting the songs and poems.

I would like to thank Neil Kearney for his continued help producing the songs. He has been a vital cog, and I am continually grateful for his input. Also, the other musicians and backing vocalists Damian Hanna, Simon Templeton, Laurence McKeown, and Natalie Youle for their many and varied talents.

Thanks to Josh Owens for the Bodhrán on the acoustic version of The 9th Round, and Heather Stranahan for backing vocals on The Ballad of May Blood. Big thanks to Norman "Spike" Milliken in Mojo Recording Studio.

Thanks to the Holy Family Boxing Club for their hospitality and Gerry Storey in particular for such generosity with his time and all that he has done over the years. After reading Don McRae's wonderful book "In Sunshine and in Shadow" detailing Gerry's work over the years and his continued influence over Belfast boxing, I knew I wanted to write The Cornerman. Thanks to Don McRae and Carl Frampton for their endorsement of The Cornerman. It means a lot given their knowledge and experience of the man that is Gerry Storey.

Thanks to Baroness May Blood for all her great work over the years. Whilst I had the pleasure of hearing May speak at a number of events, the last of these being her appearance at the "Our Time in Space" event at the Lyric Theatre to discuss integrated education, I sadly never had the pleasure to meet her in person. I am therefore extra grateful that her grand-niece Heather Stranahan agreed to provide backing vocals on the song and personalise it in this way.

Thanks to the fantastic Olympic bronze medal winner and superb photographer Hugh Russell who is sadly no longer with us. Hugh provided the photos that would be used for the covers of The 9th Round and The Cornerman - Gerry Storey, as well as those featured in the Irish News article about those songs. I know Hugh is greatly missed by his family as well as his colleagues in the Irish News and the extended boxing fraternity in Belfast, and I was honoured to have met and worked with him. Also, thanks to 2-time Olympic bronze medal winner Paddy Barnes for capturing the photo of myself and Hugh!

Thanks to Mal McCann for the photo used for the cover of Common Ground and Adam Aston for the final artwork for this cover. Also, thanks to Conway Mill in Belfast for their permission to use the linen mill workers mural for the cover of The Ballad of May Blood.

Thanks to Kevin Farrell in the Irish News and Jessica Rice in the Belfast Telegraph for seeing the quality in the project and their superbly written articles. Also, thanks to Erin Rado at Celtic Nations Magazine and Amos Greig at A New Ulster Magazine for publishing my poems.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Antoinette for her unwavering support whilst all the plates spin, my mother Anne for passing on her love of music, and my father Brian for his love of boxing which helped steer me toward the now obvious starting point for the project.

May this list continue to grow.

Ó Murchú - Declan Murphy

There are a great many people that I want to thank for their help inspiring me to set about these works as well as producing and promoting the songs and poems.

I would like to thank Neil Kearney for his continued help producing the songs. He has been a vital cog, and I am continually grateful for his input. Also, the other musicians and backing vocalists Damian Hanna, Simon Templeton, Laurence McKeown, and Natalie Youle for their many and varied talents.

Thanks to Josh Owens for the Bodhrán on the acoustic version of The 9th Round, and Heather Stranahan for backing vocals on The Ballad of May Blood. Big thanks to Norman "Spike" Milliken in Mojo Recording Studio.

Thanks to the Holy Family Boxing Club for their hospitality and Gerry Storey in particular for such generosity with his time and all that he has done over the years. After reading Don McRae's wonderful book "In Sunshine and in Shadow" detailing Gerry's work over the years and his continued influence over Belfast boxing, I knew I wanted to write The Cornerman. Thanks to Don McRae and Carl Frampton for their endorsement of The Cornerman. It means a lot given their knowledge and experience of the man that is Gerry Storey.

Thanks to Baroness May Blood for all her great work over the years. Whilst I had the pleasure of hearing May speak at a number of events, the last of these being her appearance at the "Our Time in Space" event at the Lyric Theatre to discuss integrated education, I sadly never had the pleasure to meet her in person. I am therefore extra grateful that her grand-niece Heather Stranahan agreed to provide backing vocals on the song and personalise it in this way.

Thanks to the fantastic Olympic bronze medal winner and superb photographer Hugh Russell who is sadly no longer with us. Hugh provided the photos that would be used for the covers of The 9th Round and The Cornerman - Gerry Storey, as well as those featured in the Irish News article about those songs. I know Hugh is greatly missed by his family as well as his colleagues in the Irish News and the extended boxing fraternity in Belfast, and I was honoured to have met and worked with him. Also, thanks to 2-time Olympic bronze medal winner Paddy Barnes for capturing the photo of myself and Hugh!

Thanks to Mal McCann for the photo used for the cover of Common Ground and Adam Aston for the final artwork for this cover. Also, thanks to Conway Mill in Belfast for their permission to use the linen mill workers mural for the cover of The Ballad of May Blood.

Thanks to Kevin Farrell in the Irish News and Jessica Rice in the Belfast Telegraph for seeing the quality in the project and their superbly written articles. Also, thanks to Erin Rado at Celtic Nations Magazine and Amos Greig at A New Ulster Magazine for publishing my poems.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Antoinette for her unwavering support whilst all the plates spin, my mother Anne for passing on her love of music, and my father Brian for his love of boxing which helped steer me toward the now obvious starting point for the project.

May this list continue to grow.

Ó Murchú - Declan Murphy