Blue plaque

Ma Copley was the original queen of the ring - a huge hitter in the male-dominated Belfast boxing scene of the 1930s. She was born in Yorkshire in 1866 into a family that travelled around the country with a circus, funfair and waxworks.
She arrived in Belfast in the 1920s, setting herself up as a boxing promoter in the 1930s.
Clara ‘Ma’ Copley, was one of the world’s first female boxing promoters, and pulled in the cream of the sport to showcase their talents to fight fans in a tent in the heart of the city.
Competitors went toe-to-toe for five or 10 shilling purses, with Ma Copley known to slip cash to young boxers down on their luck. One such boxer was a future world champion, Rinty Monaghan.
Clara has an unmarked grave in the City Cemetery in Belfast. There is no headstone or marker,  sad reality of the fleeting nature of fame.