A tough, but learning, day at the office for Team Ireland at the 76th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

222 athletes are contesting 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.

50kg Shannon Sweeney, the reigning European Champion at the weight, met France’s Moulai Romane at the Quarter Final stage. This was a tough and testy bout which ended in 4-1 split decision in the French boxer’s favour. Later in the same ring and session, European U23 champ, 54kg Patsy Joyce first stepped between the ropes against Uzbekistan’s Shakzod Muzafarov, the 2024 Asian silver medalist. This was a high octaine bout, but the decision went to Patsy’s opponent

57kg Niamh Fay contested against Turkey’s Asude Ece Ediz in the last 8 in high tempo pressure contest. The 4-1 decision went in the Turkish athlete’s favour. Later in the same ring, superheavy Gus Ide was back in acton following his opening bout victory over Uzbekistan’s Arman Makhonov. Today, he faced Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay – a Paris Olympian and reigning Asian Champ. Oralbay came away for the decision.

54kg Chloe Gabriel contested againt Kazakh opposition, in the form of Symbat Aliashkar, and left it all in the ring. Aliashkar progresses to the semi finals . While in Bout 5, 63kg Linda Desmond made her Strandja debut at QF stage against England’s Sasha Hickey, the reigning European U23 champion at the weight- this was a contentious bout in which a point was deducted from the English boxer for holding. The final score was 4-0 in her favour.

Day Four

Thursday is the second day of quarter finals, and there are 5 boxers between the ropes.

48kg Louis Rooney, the European U23 champion at the weight, boxes his first contest, makes his debut in the opening bout of Ring A’s Afternoon session, against Kazakhstan’s Shanzar Taskenbay. 

Over in the Afternoon Session in Ring B, Rhys Owens and Adam Hession, both boxing at 60kg, contest their quarter finals against Kazakhstan’s Serik Termirzhanov and England’s Jack Dryden, respective. Those contests are Bouts 5 and 6. Paris Olympian 63.5kg Dean Clancy boxes for a medal in Bout 8, against England’s Patris Mughalzai. 80kg James Whelan is up 4 bouts later, and boxes Kazakhstan’s Yerassyl Zhakpekov.

Programme

Watch

The Bulgarian Boxing Federation is streaming the tournament live on its YouTube channel. Links, per ring and session, will be published on the day of boxing.

Boxing in the Afternoon Session begins at 12pm, Irish time, while the evening sessions gets underway at 3.30pm.

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.

Drawsheets are available here

Women in Sport Week begins on Monday, and runs until Sunday, March 9^th.

WIS week, which is marked by every sport, is aimed at celebrating every woman and girl who plays, coaches, officiates, volunteers, works in, and leads on Women in Sport.

As part of a suite of events, 4 themed online seminars are available to boxing clubs and their members. They are free to attend, and registration is by clicking the name of the seminar listed below.

• 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 5^th: 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.

Team Ireland Paris Olympian, heavyweight Jack Marley, rounded off an excellent second day of boxing at the Strandja Memorial Tournament with his feet firmly on the podium.

He secured a 3-2 win over China’s JiLei Zhang and will box his semi final either Uzbekistan and England.

222 athletes are contesting 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.

Team Ireland now has at least two medals: 48kg Ciara Walsh has been draw in the semi finals, and will come home at least a bronze medal.

Four more Team Ireland boxers have won quarter final berths following preliminary bouts today: A statement win super-heavy, Gus Ide. He came back from losing the 1st round to record a 4-1 split decision win over Uzbekistan’s Arman Makhonov.

Paris Olympian, Team Ireland 63.5kg Dean Clancy, is through to the Quarter Finals following a 5-0 preliminaries win over Uzbekistan’s Sayat Ilyasov. Dean will box his QF on Thursday. He’s joined there by Team Ireland team-mate and weight-mate, 63.5kg Jason Nevin, who won through to the quarter finals with a 3-2 win over China’s Melia Na.

Also boxing for a medal on Thursday will be 80kg James Whelan, courtesy of a 5-0 win over China’s Ye Erobolweishhan.

A brave performance by Team Ireland’s 75kg Gavin Rafferty but not to be on this occasion, following a testing, learning bout against Azerbaijan’s Mishariff Kazimada. A similar fate for 75kg Josh Olaniyan contesting against Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Ummataliev, the reigning Asian Champ, and U22 silver medalist. While 86kg Brian Kennedy left it all in the ring against France’s Aboulaye Traore, and comes away with an invaluable learning experience.

Day Three

6 Team Ireland boxers are between the ropes on Wednesday.

In Bout 2 of Ring A’s Afternoon Session, 50kg Shannon Sweeney, the reigning European Champion meets France’s Moulai Romane at the Quarter Final stage. In Bout 7, European U23 champ, 54kg Patsy Joyce first steps between the ropes against Uzbekistan’s Shakzod Muzafarov.

In Ring B’s Afternoon Session, 57kg Niamh Fay contests against Turkey’s Asude Ece Ediz in the last 8 – that’s Bout 3. 9 bouts later, in Bout 12, superheavy Gus Ide is back in action, against Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay

In Ring B’s Evening Session, 54kg Chloe Gabriel contests againt Kazakh opposition, in the form of Symbat Aliashkar – that’s Bout 3. While in Bout 5, 63kg Linda Desmond makes her Strandja debut at QF stage against England’s Sasha Hickey .

Programme

Watch

The Bulgarian Boxing Federation is streaming the tournament live on its YouTube channel. Links, per ring and session, will be published on the day of boxing.

Boxing in the Afternoon Session begins at 12pm, Irish time, while the evening sessions gets underway at 3.30pm.

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.

Drawsheets are available here

A total of 17 bouts will be boxed on the Ireland V Wales international taking place at the Guildhall, Derry, this weekend.

Three supporting contests will now be boxed before the main card as part of this key development event for the boxing stars of the future.

This is the first Youth international to take place since March 2023, when Ireland took on England in a dual nations following a training camp in Ballina, Co. Mayo. The last Elite international, when Ireland met Ukraine, took place in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, in April 2024, also following a training camp.

Ireland last met Wales in a dual nations in February, 2022, in a predominantly Youth programme. That ended in 5 wins, apiece, for each federation.

Tickets:

• Adults: €20
• Children, under 16: €10
• Club bundles: 10 tickets €150/£150

Location

The Guildhall, BT48 7BB

Doors open at 6pm.

This international is kindly supported by Derry Credit Union, Tyrone and Fermanagh County Board Board and Donegal County Boxing Board

Supporting Exhitions:

39 kg Tony Cox, St. Joseph’s V Aidan Moore, Deaglan

54kg  Conan Mc Sorley 2 Castles V James McGuinness St Monica’s. This bout is kindly supported by Tyrone County Board and Paul Mayse

48kg Caoimhin Connelly Twin Towns V Harley Salinger, Sacred Heart Dublin. This bout is kindly supported by Donegal County Board and Peter O Donnell.

Ireland V Wales

46kg Ava McCabe, Jobstown BC, Dublin V Tyler Harris, Wales

48kg Abbey Molloy, Sacred Heart Boxing Club Dublin V Lacey Dalling, Wales

50kg Skye Ward, Neilstown BC, Dublin V Angelina Rees, Wales

51kg Michael Reilly, St. Paul’s Boxing Club, Waterford V Gavin Alexander, Wales

52kg Kayleigh Byrne, Gorey BC, Wexford V Skye Taylor, Wales

54kg James McCann, St. Monica’s ABC, Newry V Kayden Wallace

54kg Elma Barry, Setanta Boxing Academy, Kildare V Ffion Evans, Wales

57kg Sean McCusker, Dealgan BC, Louth V Troy Hayer, Wales

57kg Grace Conway, Tredagh Boxing Academy, Louth V Ellie Cain, Wales

60kg Daniel Hunter, Corpus Christi ABC, Belfast V Alfie Lewis, Wales

67kg John Donoghue, Olympic Boxing Club, Westmeath V Kai Powell, Wales

71kg Rati Abulzade, Togher BC, Cork V Sam Mc Cann, Wales

75kg Jason Whelan, Dublin Docklands BC V Mitchell Jones, Wales

80kg Chulainn McDonnell, Whitechurch BC, Dublin V Patrick Price, Wales

Ulster Development Exhibitions

Team Wales will travel from the Guildhall to Corpus Christ Boxing Club Belfast on Sunday March 2nd, for a series of development-focused exhibition bouts.

Boxing begins at 12pm.

	Supporting Exhibitions
54kg	Jerry McCann		Corpus Christi	V	Oscar Brown		Star
57kg	Eli Spence		Corpus Christi	V	John Conway		Glengormley
39kg	Jude Reilly		Immaculata	V	Aidan Moore		Dealgan
54kg	Cormac Moore		Star	V	Conan Mc Sorely		Two Castles
	Ulster Vs Wales
46kg	Skye Leigh Haighton		Evolution	V	Tyler Harris		Wales
48kg	Carys Mc Fadden		Dunfanaghy	V	Lacey Dalling		Wales
50kg	Summer Fleming		Holy Trinity	V	Angelina Rees		Wales
51kg	Ben Millar		Erne	V	Gavin Alexander		Wales
52kg	Nadine Pearson		SJ Bosco D	V	Skye Taylor		Wales
54kg	Matthew Mc Donagh		Dukes	V	Kayden Wallace		Wales
54kg	Paige Nickles		Banbridge	V	Ffion Evans		Wales
57kg	Loughlinn Beagan		Sean Doran	V	Troy Hayer		Wales
57kg	Kerry Brown		Convoy	V	Ellie Cain		Wales
60kg	Aodhan Scott		Glengormley	V	Alfie Lewis		Wales
67kg	Sean Gray		Clonard	V	Kai Powell		Wales
71kg	Kane Brannigan		Lisburn	V	Sam McCann		Wales
75kg	Kieran Cunningham		Carndonagh	V	Mitchell Jones		Wales
80kg	Sean Doohan		Dunfanaghy	V	Patrick Price		Wales

IABA’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Officer Patrick Adejayan, is providing comprehensive online Deaf Disability Awareness Training program, through a partnership with Deaf Sport Ireland.

Attendance for members has been fully funded by IABA’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Office.

This initiative aims to equip participants with essential knowledge and skills to better understand the challenges faced by individuals with hearing disabilities. Through a series of engaging modules, attendees will learn about effective communication strategies, the importance of accessibility, and ways to create a more inclusive environment. By investing in this training, IABA reinforces its commitment to fostering a diverse community where everyone feels valued and respected.

Attendees will be engaged through interactive group work and theory content and will be introduced to adaptation tools. These tools will be applied to a variety of games and activities to make them inclusive for all ability groups.

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

Registration

The workshop will take place online from 6 pm to 8 pm on Monday the 10th of March 2025

Intending participants can register here: https://shout.com/s/3hEi1WNA

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.