The Team Ireland team to contest the 2025 Women’s World Championship, taking place in Nis, Serbia from March 6^th to 17^th, has been named.

8 Elite athletes will contest these world championships, hosted by Serbia, including Paris Olympians Daina Moorehouse (50kg), Jenny Lehane (54kg), and Grainne Walsh (66kg). Also in the team are double Olympians Michaela Walsh (57kg) and four time continental champion Aoife O’Rourke (75kg). 2022 World 70kg champion, Aoife’s sister Lisa, will contest the tournament for the first time since winning World gold – she is joined by European U23 silver medalist, Carleigh Irving (48kg).

Its a keynote event for 81+kg Judy Bobbett.. Judy makes boxing history when she enters the field of play, becoming one of only a handful of athletes to contest two sports for her country at international benchmark events. Judy got her first international rugby cap in November 2019, and played for Ireland as a second row in the 2020 Six Nations championships. In tandem with her High Performance boxing training, Judy is part of the Blackrock College Women’s coaching ticket for the 2024/2025 season.

Preparations for this team have included post-Elites squad training in December, January and February, a home sparring camp with France, and an 11 day sparring camp with China in Beijing.

Head Coach Zauri Antia says “This is a highly talented, and well-prepared team – and its particularly beneficial to their preparations to have spent time training in Beijing with the Chinese first team. There was excellent sparring at that camp. I am impressed by the focus of these boxers, and by their individual development journeys. These will be a tough World Championships, where there are no easy draws. Every member of the team knows the task ahead and we are ready. It’s an honour to contest for your country, and I would like to congratulate each boxer on their selection and also their clubs, club coaches, and their families.”

The team depart for Nis on Thursday. The draw and Opening Ceremony take place on Saturday, March 8th and boxing begins on the 9th. March 15th is a rest day at the tournament, and all finals will be boxed on Sunday, March 16th.

Watch

The IBA is expected to stream the tournament live on its YouTube channel. Links, per ring and session, will be published in advance of a given day’s boxing.

Team Ireland

48kg Carleigh Irving, Oakleaf Boxing Club, Derry

50kg Daina Moorehouse, Enniskerry Boxing Club, Wicklow

54kg Jenny Lehane, DCU Athletic Boxing Club, Dublin

57kg Michaela Walsh, Holy Family GG, Belfast

66kg Grainne Walsh, St. Mary’s BC Tallaght, Dublin

70kg Lisa O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon

75kg Aoife O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon

81+kg Judy Bobbett, Liberty Boxing Club, Wicklow.

Team Manager, Ciara Plunkett

Head Coach Zauri Antia

Coach Damian Kennedy

Coach Eoin Pluck

Physiotherapist Rob Tuomey.

WISWeek2025 – Celebating the visibility of women in sport by revisiting Female Sportsfest in Belfast in February, connecting women and girls through sport and community.

Led by the Ulster Boxing Council, this event was proudly in partnership with Basketball NI, The Irish Football Association and Athletics NI

The event, hosted at the Girdwood Community Hub, kicked off with a non-contact boxing session led by Ulster High Performance boxers, including double Olympian and multi Commonwealth Games medalist, Michaela Walsh, alongside UHP athletes Nicole Clyde and Courtney McCrudden. The session was led by Female Participation Coach, Lynsey McMillan and Ingrid Quinn of Evolution BC

There were also information booths hosted by the PSNI, mental health charity TAMI, nutritionist, and the female sports forum, sharing resources.

Ulster Participation Officer, Louise McKenzie, says “This event showcased a range of opportunities and services available in the local area and was a fantastic opportunity to share resources, build partnerships and discover how we can collectively support the community.”

IABA is marking the start of Women in Sport Week 2025 by platforming the vast contribution of hundreds of women make in boxing: in training, competiting, coaching, administration, officiating, spectating and leadership roles.

One woman who has made a significant contribution to boxing at all levels over a 50 year span is Anna Moore – she is Treasurer of her club, St. Francis BC in Limerick; Treasurer of the Munster Provincial Council, a directly elected member of Central Council, a key member of the Championship Committee, a Team Manager Developer and highly experienced Team Manager, and has held positions on Women’s Committees at European and World Level.

The moniker “The Mammy of Irish Boxing” was bestowed upon Anna by Kellie Harrington, when she won her first Olympic Gold at Tokyo 2020.

Boxing WIS snapshot:

Themes

• Monday March 3rd –  Visibility 
• Tuesday March 4th – Coaching
• Wednesday March 5th – Her Moves – Teenage Girl Participation
• Thursday 6th –  Officiating
• Friday 7th  – Leadership & Governance 
• Saturday 8th  –  International Women’s Day  & WIS parkrun
• Sunday 9th – Active Participation

Sport Ireland is hosting several webinars to support females across a range of levels in sport

• Coaching The Female Athlete – Tuesday March 4th 8-9pm

Targeting coaches of female athletes, topics include Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and body image.

• Her Moves – Teenage Girls & Sport – Wednesday March 5th

Targeting Schools who will host a WIS themed class, where female pupils will watch the live webinar together. Topics include menstruation, body image and selecting the right sports bra.

• Her Moves – Supporting Teenage Girls in Sport – Wednesday March 5th, 7.30-8.30pm

Open to any teenage girl, we are encouraging clubs or community groups to host a WIS evening, where their teen girls, can come together to watch and learn from this webinar (also open to any teenage girl / parent in the community). Topics include menstruation, body image and selecting the right sports bra.

• Breaking Barriers: Women in Officiating – Thursday March 6th, 8-9pm

Targeting female officials, topics include challenges, achievements, and future opportunities for women officiating in sport.

IABA’s Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Officer, Patrick Adejayan, has commissioned and is funding the Irish Wheelchair Association to deliver in-person wheelchair accessibility awareness training on Tuesday, April 8th.

The 3-hour Accessibility Awareness (In-Person) Training introduces participants to the key principles of Universal Access, Universal Design, Disability Access Certificates and Access Auditing to ensure all aspects of the built environment are accessible.

This practical workshop is highly interactive, with videos, discussions, case studies, design appraisals, route appraisals, problem-solving of everyday scenarios, examples of everyday barriers faced by people with disabilities and more.

After completing the workshop, participants will receive an Irish Wheelchair Association Certificate of Attendance and a resource manual for inclusive activities.

Date and Location

The National Stadium, Tuesday 8^th April between 11am and 2pm.

Registration

Register here: https://shout.com/s/1Wfjrhy5

Places are limited. If you register for a place on this course and cannot attend, please advise IABA’s DEI Officer, Patrick Adejayan, through patrick.ad@iaba.ie so that your place can be offered to an IABA member on the waiting list.

All Team Ireland Strandja medalists have been bestowed with their accolades.

48kg Ciara Walsh, Smithfield Boxing Club Dublin, the 2024 European U23 champ 48kg Louis Rooney of Star ABC, Belfast, Team Captain 60kg Adam Hession of Monivea BC Galway, and Paris Olympians 63.5kg Dean Clancy & heavyweight Jack Clancy all return with bronze medals.

222 athletes contested the competion: 143 men and 79 women boxers, from 22 federations, including Ireland: Algeria, Austrian,Azerbaijan, Bulgaria Chinese Taipei, China (Inner Mongolia), Croatia, Cyprus, England, France, Hungary, Greece, Georgia, Italy, Israel, Kosovo, Pakistan, Slovakia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Wales.

All post-competition boxers engaged in development sparring, with federatons including England, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Chinese Taipei, Bulgaria, France, Austria and Bulgaria

The team will arrive to Dublin Airport’s Terminal 1 at 14:25hrs on Monday afternoon.

Team Ireland

48kg Ciara Walsh, Smithfield Boxing Club Dublin

50kg Shannon Sweeney, St. Anne’s BC, Westport Mayo

54kg Chloe Gabriel, Dublin Docklands BC

57kg Niamh Fay, Phoenix of Ballyboughal BC, Dublin

63kg Linda Desmond, Rylane BC, Cork

48kg Louis Rooney, Star ABC, Belfast

54kg Patsy Joyce, Olympic BC Mullingar

60kg Rhys Owens, Erne BC, Fermanagh

60kg Adam Hession, Monivea BC, Galway, Team Captain.

63.5kg Jason Nevin, Olympic BC Mullingar

63.5kg Dean Clancy, Sean McDermott BC, Leitrim

67kg Darren O’Connor, Olympic BC, Galway

75kg Gavin Rafferty, Dublin Docklands

75kg Josh Olaniyan, Jobstown BC, Dublin

80kg James Whelan, Dublin Docklands

86kg Brian Kennedy, St Brigid’s BC, Edenderry, Offaly

92kg Jack Marley, Monkstown BC, Dublin

92+kg Gus Ide, Crumlin BC, Dublin.

Team Manager: Sean Crowley

Head Coach: Zauri Antia

Coach: Lynne McEnery

Coach: Jay Delaney

Physio: Rob Tuomey

R&J: Mal Scott.