The eclectic collection of boxing photography and artifacts including the legendary John L. Sullivan 's fur coat; a blazer specially made for Jack Dempsey and the late, great Irish fighter Dan Donnelly's mummified right arm – yes, your read that right -- will be on display until the end of the year at the South Street Seaport Museum.
Curator Jim Houlihan has amassed a wonderful collection of items, all of which pertain the Irish fighters. The exhibit began last year at the Irish Arts Center before moving to a much larger space at the Seaport. If you are in the city for the holiday and venture downtown, it's definitely worth stopping in. A century's worth of Irish fighters -- from here and across the pond -- are represented.
The museum sits near the East River, where pre-Ellis Island Irish immigrants first landed in New York. During a recent restoration of old seafaring buildings along the docks, a wall of Irish graffiti was uncovered, dating back to the Great Famine. That has also been incorporated in the Fighting Irishmen exhibit. -- CASSIDY