James "Lugs" Branigan

Common card · No. 424611

James Christopher "Lugs" Branigan (6 January 1910 – 22 May 1986) was a well-known member of the Garda Síochána in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as an Irish boxer and boxing referee. He has been described as a "legend and part of Dublin mythology," but has also been criticised for alleged police brutality. The nickname 'Lugs' refers to his prominent ears. A keen boxer, he achieved his nickname 'Lugs' early in life due to his cauliflower ears, a condition most common among amateur wrestlers, rugby players, mixed martial artists and grapplers, it is said he got the name because of his ears by a Dublin criminal in the 1940s – a nickname he disliked. According to Neary (1985), he was known as Jim, "Branno" and "The Bran" to his Garda colleagues, and "Bat", from battler which he was known as from his boxing days.

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