Michael Gomez - Background

Background

Michael Armstrong was born into an Irish traveller family in Longford, Ireland. His mother went into labour with him while driving, so his partially sighted father took over the wheel but crashed the car into a lamp post on the way to the hospital; Michael was delivered in the back seat. The Armstrong family moved to Ballymun, Dublin, and, when Michael was age nine, to Manchester, England.

Following the family's move to England, Armstrong's father's eyesight failed further due to retinitis pigmentosa. By that time, there were ten children in the Armstrong family. After his younger sister, Louise, died from sudden infant death syndrome, his mother left the family to live with another woman. Armstrong subsequently spent much of his youth in various children's homes, and was a serial truant from school. His mother had taught him to shoplift as a child, and he was involved in petty crime throughout his youth in Manchester. At nine years old, he began training at Brian Hughes' Collyhurst and Moston Boys' Club. He also played football for a local North Manchester team until the club received so many fines for Armstrong's fighting on the pitch that they were unable to pay them. At this point, he stopped playing football to concentrate on his training in the ring. During his time in the children's home Armstrong met Alison, who has remained his companion (and later his wife) throughout his professional career; they were parents by the time Armstrong was 17.