The draw has taken place for the 2023 European Schools Championship – and Ireland will come home with a minimum of two medals, for Louise Joyce and Ava Lannon.
The tournament is being hosted by the Slovenian Boxing Federation in Maribor, from August 15th to 26th. In preparation for the tournament, the Irish team took part in a camp with Poland with Squad Training and the National Stadium.
Team Ireland have received 7 byes, in total- 54kg Darren O’Toole (Enniskerry) has received a bye to the second round of preliminaries – he’ll face Croatia on Saturday. Likewise, co-flag bearer, 57kg James Rooney (St John Bosco ABC, Belfast) is in to the second round prelims, meeting Romania on Sunday. 90kg Jake Fitzgerald (Dungarvan) also has a bye, and opens his account against the IBA Germany team on Monday.
Co-flag bearer 36kg Louise Joyce (Olympic L), the lightest boxer on the team, is already a medalist – won’t step between the ropes until August 22nd – she’ll meet Ukraine at the semi-final stage and will come home with at least a bronze medal. 54kg Sophie Lawlor (Wexford CBS) has a bye to the quarter finals, and contests against IBA Czech Republic/Czechia on Monday. 64kg Cassie Henderson (Phoenix Antrim) is also a quarter finalist and makes her tournament debut against Poland on Tuesday. 70kg Ava Lannon (Dungarvan) is also a medalist, and begins her championships at semi-final stage, following a bye. She’ll meet the winner of Greece Vs. Ukraine on August 23rd.
Full Draw – All Weights
Day One
8 Team Ireland boxers are in action on the opening day of the competition. In Ring A’s afternoon session, Bout 4, 40kg Rylee Finn (St Nicholas) takes on Alexandr Konstantinoudis of Greece. In bout 13 of the same ring and session, 42kg Comghnall Guerrine (Sacred Heart D meets England’s Azaan Hassan. In the next bout, 44kg Kalib Walsh (Wexford CBS) contests against Azerbaijzan’s Bahlul Ahmadli and in bout 18, 52kg Kai Dynes Murphy (Immaculata) boxes Georgia’s Sandro Kapanadze.
In Ring B, bout 6 51kg Ruth Dossen (Olympic Galway) opens her account against Poland’s Julia Jaskrawska. In bout 9, 46kg Padraig Walsh (Immaculata) faces Azerbaijani opposition in Muhammad Mehraliyev. Four bouts later, 48kg Conan McSorley (Two Castles) boxes Italy’s Daniele Fabi while in bout 21, 70kg Senan Kennedy (Cabra) meets Azerbaijan’s Ismayil Valiyev. The afternoon session starts at 2pm, Irish time.
Programme:
Watch Live
Ring A – Day One, Session 1. 2pm, Irish time.
Ring B, Day One, Session One – 2pm, Irish time
Central Council took the independent decision to field a team at this tournament at its meeting in July, following a review of all federations contesting previous underage European Championships this year. This review included the ongoing European Junior Championships, where competitor nations include Ukraine, England, Scotland and Wales.
Central Council is mindful of the fact that Irish athletes cannot contest against Russian or Belarussian athletes boxing under their own flag, and wanted to ensure there was as low a probability as possible of an Irish boxer being drawn against such an opponent.
Team Ireland European School Championship Squad
36kg Louise Joyce (Olympic L)
40kg Kayleigh Hodnett(St Josephs L)
42kg Carley O’Herron (Rochfordbridge )
44kg Aleigha Murphy (Crumlin)
46kg Ella Archbold (Ballybrack)
48kg Paige Nickles (Banbridge)
51kg Ruth Dossen (Olympic Galway)
54kg Sophie Lawlor (Wexford CBS)
57kg Kaysie Joyce (Clonmel)
60kg Isabelle Hawkins (St Nicholas)
64kg Cassie Henderson (Phoenix Antrim)
70kg Ava Lannon (Dungarvan)
40kg Rylee Finn (St Nicholas )
42kg Comghnall Guerrine ( Sacred Heart D)
44kg Kalib Walsh ( Wexford CBS )
46kg Padraig Walsh ( Immaculata )
48kg Conan McSorley ( Two Castles )
50kg Jason Donoghue ( Olympic L )
52kg Kai Dynes Murphy (Immaculata)
54kg Darren O’Toole ( Enniskerry )
57kg James Rooney (St John Bosco ABC, Belfast)
63kg Darragh Ryan( Drimnagh )
66kg Peter McGee (St Conleths )
70kg Senan Kennedy ( Cabra )
75kg John Ward ( Monivea)
90kg Jake Fitzgerald (Dungarvan)
Team Manager: Bernadette Lannon
Team Manager: Francis Keeling
Coach: Lynne McEnery
Coach: Aoife Hennigan
Coach: Paul Simpson
Coach: Garry Kehoe
R&J: Martin O’Neill
Competition Schedule