Katie Taylor's Final Fight: A Tribute from Legends

Katie Taylor’s last walk to the ring will be soundtracked by more than 80,000 voices at Croke Park – and a chorus of famous supporters watching from afar.

On the day of her 27th and final professional bout, against 29-year-old French fighter Flora Pili in Dublin, Taylor’s Instagram feed has turned into a rolling tribute to a career that has redrawn the map for women’s boxing and Irish sport.

Her promoters pulled together a series of video messages from some of the biggest names in music and sport. The tone is the same throughout: awe, gratitude, and a hint of disbelief that this is really the end.

Bono, speaking for U2, framed the night as the culmination of a lifetime’s fight. “An Irish woman like never before has for 28 years fought her way into the fight of her life,” he said, sending his blessing that she “finishes safe and sound. Sound as the bell that kicks off her last professional bout in Croker tonight.” His closing line – “So proud of you, so proud to know you Katie” – carried the weight of a country that has grown up with her.

From golf’s elite, Rory McIlroy focused on the spectacle awaiting Taylor at home. Fighting in front of an Irish crowd, he said, is going to be “absolutely incredible” and he urged her to “give everyone the show that you always do.” McIlroy called her “so entertaining” to watch and praised an “amazing career,” before urging her to “finish it off the right way.”

Music stars lined up alongside him. Ed Sheeran sent his best from a distance, saying he hoped she has an “amazing fight” and wins, while apologising for not being able to be there in person. Niall Horan admitted he was “absolutely gutted” to miss the occasion, but spoke of how “amazing” it has been to watch her “inspire a whole nation.”

Hozier, another long-time admirer, underlined the scale of her influence. He said he has watched, “along with everybody else, with such admiration” as her career has gone “from strength to strength.” Taylor, he added, represents herself, her sport, her discipline and “this whole country brilliantly,” and does it “with such grace.” His message ended with a simple verdict: “I have such admiration and such respect for you.”

From the world of pop to the pages of Irish sporting history, Ronan Keating did not hold back. “You will go down in the history books. You are one of the greats,” he said, placing her squarely among the defining Irish athletes of any era.

For the next generation, Taylor’s impact runs deeper than belts and banners. Olympian sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke thanked her for “showing her what is possible,” adding: “If you can’t see it, you can’t believe it, and you allowed me to believe it.” That line cuts to the heart of Taylor’s legacy: visibility, belief, and a pathway where none existed.

The tributes kept coming. Former Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll, and actors Andrew Scott and Jamie Dornan, were among the many others who sent messages of support, folding Taylor’s story into the broader tapestry of Irish culture.

By the time she steps through the ropes against Pili, Taylor will already have heard what she means to those who followed, those who watched, and those she inspired. The noise at Croke Park will tell her the rest.