The Irish Athletic Boxing Association is deeply saddened by the passing today of Joe Hennigan.

Joe, a native of Co. Mayo, gave over 60 years of service to boxing at club, county, provincial and national level.

He was the driving force behind Ardaree Boxing Club in his native county for decades, serving there as a coach and administrator. He was also elected President of the Mayo County Board, and served for a considerable time as President of the Connacht Provincial Council. He was honoured in 2012 with IABA’s National Administrator accolade and in 2013 with the Connacht’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Joe was also a qualified Judge and Referee, and gave thousands of hours of his time to the officiating of bouts at all levels of the Association.

On the international stage, Joe’s contribution to the leadership of IABA teams at benchmark tournaments was immense. He led teams over a period of in excess of two decades at European and World level, from Junior to Elite, including the European Championships in Poland in 2003, the European Youth Championships in 2011, the European Junior Championships in Russia in 2018 and the 2020 Elite World Championships.

His greatest honour as Team Manager was to lead Team Ireland at all Olympic qualification tournaments and training camps in the Rio cycle, culminating in management of the team during the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Shortly thereafter, in 2017, Joe was elected Vice President of the IABA. A Lifetime Services to Boxing Award was bestowed upon Joe in 2023 in recognition of his dedication to our sport, and our community.

IABA President Anto Donnelly said “Joe exemplified was is best about boxing: dedication, a profound sense of community, an instinct towards collaboration and a deep love of our sport. His passing is a great loss to his family, his many friends, and the boxing communities of Mayo and Connacht in particular. On behalf of Central Council, I extend my deepest condolences to all of his loved ones, in particular IABA Director, Fiona. May he rest in peace”.

Joe is predeceased by his beloved wife, Breege, and is survived by his children Cathriona, Paul, Brian, IABA Director, Fiona, son- and daughters-in-law grandchildren,  nieces, nephews, relatives, and a wide circle of friends.

Funeral Arrangements

Reposing at his residence (F26 XF97) on Sunday evening from 3pm to 7pm.

Funeral will arrive to St Patrick’s church, Killala, on Monday for Mass at 1pm, followed by burial in Killala cemetery.

Condolences may be expressed here

The first of over 120 bouts in the 2025 National Intermediate Championships will be boxing at Holy Family, Drogheda, this evening.

 In all, 123 bouts will be boxed over the course of the tournament, by in excess of 140 boxers.

All drawsheets and provisional programmes are available here

Advisories

Boxing November 21st to 23rd takes place at Holy Family BC, Drogheda. Boxing on November 28th and 29th will take place at the National Stadium.

Weigh-ins will take place on Fridays from 8am to 9am, and again from 12pm to 1pm. Weigh-ins on Saturdays and Sundays will take place between 8am and 9am.

The withdrawal of any boxer should be notified without delay to National Registrar, Stephen Connolly, via +353 86 154 6746 or registrar@iaba.ie

Coaches who have not registered with National Secretary Tara Mari via secretary@iaba.ie will not be permitted entry to the field of play.

Programme | Friday, November 21st

All programmes are subject to change.

Team Ireland depart for the 2025 European U23 Championships in Budapest, Hungary today.

They’re among almost 300 boxers from 33 federatons contesting for gold at this inaugural confederation level World Boxing U23 championships. Competing federations are: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.

The team is comprised of 2025 National U23 champions, and includes World bronze medalist Patsy Joyce, World Boxing Championship boxer Louis Rooney – who was a 2024 European U23 champ, 2024 European U23 bronze medalist, Robyn Kelly, World Youth champion Cliona Darcy (2022), 2024 European Youth champion, Ava Henry and 2022 European Junior champion Tadgh O’Donnell

The team includes boxers from 8 counties: Antrim (1), Down (1) Dublin (8), Galway (1), Mayo (1), Meath (1), Offaly (1), Westmeath (2)

The Team Co-Captains have been named as Robyn Kelly of Ballynacargy Boxing Club, Westmeath and James Whelan of Dublin Docklands. They will fly the flag for Ireland at Sunday’s Opening Ceremony.

Preparation

The team have begun a 10 week bloc of training at the High Performance Unit on the Sport Ireland Campus.

The team’s preparations included a 10 week bloc of training at the High Performance Unit on the Sport Ireland campus, a 3 day international Round Robin with an Ulster Select, England and Hungary, in October, a two-Internationals series against India in November, and an U23 V Elites sparring series in the High Performance Unit in November

European Championships

The tournament is taking place in Budapest, Hungary, from November 21st to 30th.

The draw, which sets out the path to the podium for each boxer in a given weight category, will take place on the evening of November 22nd, at around 8pm Irish time. Two rings will be in operation at Bok Sports Hall until the semi-final stage.

Preliminary rounds, including quarter finals, will be boxed from November 23rd to 26th. Thursday November 27th is a rest day, semi finals will be boxed on November 28th- and all finals will take place from 2pm on November 29th. It is expected that the championships will be live-streamed.

The team will return home on Sunday, November 30th.

Schedule by weight:

Team Ireland

48kg Tiffany Spencer, Jobstown BC, Dublin

51kg Rachel Lawless, St. Brigid’s BC, Offaly

54kg Robyn Kelly, Ballynacargy Boxing Club, Westmeath

57kg Natalia Fascizewska, Castlebar BC, Mayo

60kg Rebecca Kavanagh, Mulhuddart BC, Dublin

65kg Ava Henry, Dublin Docklands BC

80+kg Cliona D’Arcy, Tobar Pheadair BC, Galway

50kg Louis Rooney, Star ABC, Belfast

55kg Pasty Joyce, Olympic BC, Westmeath

60kg Gavin Ryan, Ratoath BC, Meath

65kg Roy Colgan, Avona BC, Dublin

70kg Ryan Jenkins, Jobstown BC, Dublin

75kg Tadgh O’Donnell, Jobstown BC, Dublin

80kg James Whelan, Dublin Docklands BC

85kg Sean Mackay Trant, Monkstown BC, Dublin

90kg Garyn McAllister, North Down BC, Down

Support Staff

Team Manager: High Peformance Director, Jon Mackey

Coaches: James Doyle, Lynne McEnery, Jay Delaney, Ross Hickey (Grangecon BC, Wicklow/Defence Forces) and Paul Simpson (Saviours Crystal, Waterford)

Physio: Paddy O’Donnell and Rian Furley

Athlete Support: Aidan Walsh

R&J: Garry McGillion (Bishop Kelly BC, Tyrone)

The Irish Athletic Boxing Association has announced the retirement of High Performance Head Coach Zauri Antia, a pivotal force in Irish boxing for more than two decades, bringing to a close an exceptional career that has shaped and elevated Irish Boxing.

Zauri’s final campaign as Head Coach was the 2025 World Boxing Championships, where Team Ireland returned with gold for 75kg Aoife O’Rourke and bronze for 65kg Grainne Walsh and 55kg Patsy Joyce.

The 63 year old left his homeland, Georgia, in 2003 to join the newly established High-Performance Unit as a Technical Coach, rising to High Performance Head Coach in 2016. He has guided Irish boxers to winning 35 qualification places at five Olympic Games: Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris, coming home with 10 Olympic medals, famously including double gold for Kellie Harrington (Paris & Tokyo) and double bronze for Paddy Barnes (Beijing and London) and among the first women’s Olympic golds for Katie Taylor.

While Olympic success is the pinnacle of Irish boxing, Irish boxers have won 15 medals at European Games and 50 European Elite medals under Zauri’s coaching since 2004. That’s two thirds of Ireland’s total European & EU Championship Elite medals haul since 1939. On the World stage since 2004, Ireland has claimed 23 podium finishes, with only 5 World medals pre-dating Zauri’s arrival. At U22/U23 level, the haul stands at a remarkable 26 medals. Combined with multi-nations tournaments such as Strandja, Nicolae Linca and others, the tally throughout Zauri’s time with Irish boxing exceeds 150 medals.

Internationally respected for his technical expertise, innovative coaching style, Zauri’s goal has always been to develop the Universal Boxer, one “who can fight any distance, any style” and his coaching has focused on ringcraft, attack and counterattack. He is immensely proud of all of the boxers he has coached “ I am very privileged to have been able to spend so many years doing a job I have loved.  I have watched young athletes walk into the gym with big dreams. Their hunger to learn, their respect for the craft, and their willingness to push through the toughest moments inspired me. Ireland has given me a home, and its boxers have given me purpose. To stand in their corner, to share in their struggles and their triumphs, was an honour.”

Zauri says “I have loved every moment of my time with Irish Boxing. What a journey! When I joined the Irish Athletic Boxing Association in 2003, high performance training was delivered in the gym at the National Stadium and the formal High Performance system was just beginning. Now, we are based in the Institute of Sport supported by world-leading Sport Science Medical practitioners. There is a strong system, with excellent coaches and wonderful boxers. Nothing stays the same always, and now is a good time for change with leaders like (High Performance Director) Jon Mackey and (coach) Damian Kennedy. Irish boxing is in good hands.

There were some difficult times over those two decades, and Zauri speaks of the strain he was under during the Beijing Games, because of conflict in his home country, Georgia “My wife, and two of my children, were in Georgia when Russian forces attacked in the war for South Ossetia. My family had to run to the mountains, while I was in Beijing with Billy Walsh and a team of 5 boxers. I was able to speak to my family every day, but this was a time of great worry. My family got home to Ireland safely – and the team came home with three medals!”

Two time Olympic champion, Kellie Harrington says “ Zauri is one of the best boxing coaches in the world. His influence on me, and on my career, has been massive. His boxing brain, his planning, his strategies, are as exceptional as he is. I can’t quite put in to words how much he means to me”

High Performance Director, Jon Mackey, says “What a legacy this man leaves behind. The scale of Zauri’s achievements as a coach, and the depth of his contribution to Irish boxing over 22 remarkable years, is nothing short of extraordinary. He has shaped the careers of countless athletes, guided them through the highest levels of international competition, and instilled in them the belief, discipline, and technical excellence required to succeed. Equally significant is his dedication to developing the next generation of Irish coaches. His dual commitment to both boxer and coach mentoring has ensured that his knowledge, methods, and values will continue to shape Irish boxing long into the future. That legacy is one of which he and his family can rightly be immensely proud. While we will greatly miss his presence within the high-performance programme, his contribution will continue to echo through every gym, every corner, and every Irish athlete who benefited from his guidance. Zauri leaves the programme stronger, smarter, and more confident than he found it and for that, we owe him our deepest thanks.”

IABA CEO, Gary Stewart says “Zauri’s retirement marks the end of a truly remarkable chapter in Irish boxing. For more than two decades, Zauri has been the driving force behind our high-performance programme, a mentor to generations of Irish athletes, and a standard-bearer for excellence in our sport. Zauri’s influence extends far beyond the corner of the ring. He played a central role in shaping a system that has produced some of Ireland’s greatest sporting moments, and in doing so he inspired belief in athletes, in coaches, and in the organisation as a whole. His passion has elevated everyone around him. On behalf of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association, I want to express our profound gratitude for Zauri’s remarkable service and unwavering dedication”.

IABA President, Anto Donnelly, says “Zauri’s retirement closes a significant chapter for Irish boxing. His professionalism, technical expertise, and commitment to high standards have played a major role in shaping our high-performance programme and developing Irish athletes. On behalf of Central Council, I want to acknowledge his contribution over many years and wish him well in the next stage of his career.”

Sport Ireland Director of High Performance Sport, Paul McDermott, says “Zauri has had a truly remarkable impact, not only on Irish boxing, but on Irish sport as a whole. Sustaining such an extraordinary level of success over more than two decades speaks to his technical brilliance as a coach, but just as importantly to his work ethic and passion for developing athletes. His influence will be felt long into the future through the boxers he has coached and the coaches he has mentored. Beyond medals and accolades, one of his greatest gifts to the country has been the joy and pride that Irish boxing has brought to so many people for so many years.”

Zauri was born in the Georgian port town of Poti, on the Black Sea. As a boxer, he campaigned at 63.5kg and was a six-time Georgian champion and a USSR regional bronze medalist. He has a degree in Sports Science and Management, and was attested a Master of Boxing under the USSR system. As a club and then USSR regional coach, boxers under his tutelage attained Soviet, European and World Soviet finishes. He has made Bray, Co. Wicklow his home for the last 22 years, with his wife Nona, their three children David, Natia and Georghe. Zauri is now a very proud grandfather of 6.

High Performance Senior Coach, Damian Kennedy, has been named Interim Head Coach. Recruitment for the High Performance Head Coach role will take place in the New Year.

Over 100 young men came together at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre Belfast on International Men’s Day to try boxing and have a positive mental health discussion with providers “Just Chat”.

Schools from across the city were shown the fundamentals of boxing by our community coaches Brendan Irvine and Patrick Gallagher and coaches from some Belfast clubs. They then moved on to have a talk on positive mental health and coping mechanisms with East Belfast’s ‘Just Chat’ charity. Each participant was awarded with a medal, T-shirt and certificate of participation.

Lisnasharragh LC was kindly donated by GLL to help host the day. This was a great day organised and lead by our two excellent community boxing coaches.

This was in partnership with Belfast City Council and Belfast Boxing Strategy🥊