Ireland’s talented young male and female prospects will complete their final training camp in Waterford this weekend ahead of the start of the European Junior Male and Female Championships in Galati, Romania later this month.
The squad are booked in to train in Dungarvan from Thursday and leave for Romania on Wednesday week.
Boxing begins on May 23 in Galati.
Team Ireland have been putting in the hard hours in the gym every weekend since the Open Cadets in March and head coach Billy McClean believes they’ll be in top form in eastern Europe.
“The squad have been training really hard since the Cadets. Dungarvan will be their final training camp and we’ll see how the fighting Irish get on in Romania,” he said.
“I expect that the European juniors will be very competitive, it always is. All the big nations will be there but our team will be ready for the challenge.”
The IABA have named a 25-strong panel of Irish champions for Romania.
Ulster feather Martin McCullough impressed en route to gold at the Cadets and his club coach told today’s Irish News that he believes the Gleann NC southpaw can finish in a podium position in Galati.
“He’s driven, he’s thinking about these Europeans constantly – about getting a medal. Ruairi Dalton was up training with us and he’s been to a few Europeans and Worlds and he was giving him a bit of advice. I really believe he can do it, said Dee Walsh.
“The wee lads he beat in the semi-final and the final down in Dublin were both European medallists, so he 100 per cent can medal.”
Walsh was impressed with the quality at the Open Senior Cadets at the National Stadium.
“I couldn’t get over the standard down there,” he admitted.
“It really shocked me the level of opposition down there, all the kids across the weight divisions were really, really good, so when his hand was raised it was some buzz – I haven’t had a buzz like that since winning the All-Irelands myself.”
European Male and Female Junior Championships Galati, Romania, May 22/June 2
Irish squad
Female
46kg Breda Quilligan (Rathkeale)
48kg Robyn Kelly (Ballynacargy)
50kg Marie Marine-Gabriel (Mulhuddart)
52kg Rachael Lawless (Portlaoise)
54kg Aaliyah Butler (Monivea)
57kg Nicole O’Sullivan (Corinthians)
60kg Shelby Myres (Crumlin)
63kg Winnie McDonagh (Neilstown)
66kg Tegan Farrell (Arklow)
70kg Shauna Doherty (Sacred Heart, Dublin)
75kg Dearbhla Tinnelly (Clann Naofa)
80kg Margaret Stokes (Callan)
Male
46kg Dylan Eagleson (St Pauls,Antrim)
48kg Michael Donoghue (St Michaels Athy)
50kg Jason Nevin (Olympic Mullingar)
52kg Donagh Keary (Rathfirlnd)
54kg Mustafa Edris (Monkstown, Dublin)
57kg Martin McCullough (Gleann)
60kg Michael McCarthy (Mayfield)
63kg Thomas King (Ratoath)
66kg Taylor Guiney (Drimngh)
70kg Eoghan Lavin (Ballyhaunis)
75kg Mark Duffy (Charlestown)
80kg John Ward (Brosna)
80+kg Thomas McDonnell (Docklands)
IABA President: Dominic O’Rourke
Team managers: Eugene O’Kane Snr and Anne Murphy
Coaches: Billy McClean, James Doyle, Gerard McDaid, John Gallagher, Aoife Hennigan
R&J: Loughlin Gannon