Edward Barrett (Irish sportsman)

Edward Edmond Barrett was an Irish athlete, wrestler and hurler, who won a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Biography

He was born in Rahela, Ballyduff, County Kerry, Ireland. Barrett played hurling with the local Ballyduff team. He emigrated to London, joined a local hurling club, and was selected for the London GAA team. He was a corner-forward on the London team, which won the 1901 All-Ireland Championship, beating Cork GAA 1–5 to 0–4 in the final. It remains London's only senior All-Ireland hurling Championship title. Barrett also appeared for London in the final of the following year, but this time Cork gained revenge, thrashing London 3–13 to 0–0.
Barrett represented Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where he won a gold medal as part of the City of London Police tug-of-war team. He also won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division of the freestyle wrestling competition.
Barrett also competed in the shot, javelin and discus competitions in the 1908 athletics programme, but wrestling was his premier sport. He was a British heavyweight freestyle champion at the British Wrestling Championships in 1908 and 1911. Barrett also competed in Greco-Roman wrestling in both 1908 and the Stockholm Olympics of 1912.