Athlone songwriter is in love with Katie Taylor!

The euphoria which swept the nation after Katie Taylor's Olympic gold medal victory inspired an Athlone songwriter to pen a ballad extolling her virtues. Fergal Cox wrote his 'Song for Katie' in the hours following the Bray boxer's final against Sofya Ochigava in London. "I was caught up in the energy and pride of the occasion and I wanted to create a record of how it felt at the time, because often moments like that pass too soon and then you're back to your daily routine," he commented. The Cornamagh native performed the song for about 25 people at Killinure Chalets in Glasson the night after Katie's gold medal win and it prompted a very enthusiastic response. "By the end of the night people were asking me to sing it again, which is always a good sign," he said. The song is now accessible to a much wider audience, as a recording of Fergal singing it was recently posted on the Youtube website. There was an outbreak of Katie Taylor fever during the Olympics and, in the ballad, Fergal makes it clear that he wasn't immune to her charms. He sings: "She is petite but she is strong, 60k(g) you can't go wrong / I'm in love with Katie Taylor. She set the nation alight with a combination, left-right / I'll fight anyone but her just to claim her." The song also mentions some of the main characters in her journey to the top such as her father Peter and her Olympic opponents, the "brave" Natasha Jonas, the "brute" Mavzuna Chorieva and the "Drago-like" Sofya Ochigava (a reference to the Russian boxer in the Rocky IV film). Speaking to the Westmeath Independent yesterday, Fergal discussed the elation which Katie's performances had brought to an "economically downtrodden" nation. "A bit of time has passed, so we can now have a more sober reflection of the magnitude of her achievement - not just the three fights she won to claim the gold medal, but also her life-long struggle to get there in the first place and her integral part in bringing the sport to a global Olympic audience." He added that he was hopeful the song might be heard by Katie Taylor herself at some stage. You can listen to 'Song for Katie' here: