St. Paul’s Boxing Club, Waterford, has been honoured with a national accolade.
The club was nominated by Waterford County Council for the ‘Best Community Sports Team/Club’ category at the All Ireland Council & Community Awards, and came away with gold.
The clubs was nominated alongside Enjoy Tennis at Shankill Tennis Club (Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown), FitFor45 (South Dublin), Longford Athletic Club (Longford), Monaghan Sanctuary Runners (Monaghan), The Peace Link (Monaghan) and Waterford Sports Partnership/Waterford Gymnastics Club – Me and My Dad Do Gymnastics (Waterford).
Organisers say the awards “recognise and celebrate community and councils working together. They provide a great opportunity to highlight and celebrate the work done within our communities, to reward our unsung heroes and recognise the phenomenal contribution they’ve made to our lives.”
In a statement St. Paul’s BC says “For 45 years, we have fostered and developed the noble art of boxing in the parish of St. Paul’s in Waterford City, winning 77 national titles at Juvenile, Youth, U18, U22, Senior and Elite levels. Many of our boxers have competed internationally at the European and World level. However, we have always had a great sense of community and worked with all facets of society in St. Paul’s Parish and Waterford City for many years.
Our founder member John Finn and the then committee created a culture that wasn’t just one of winning but one of acceptance too. All their boxers are treated the same, whether you are a national champion or a beginner. The same culture continues today under the guidance of President Kieran Kennedy and head coach Seamus Cowman, along with their committee and team of talented coaches. The club is very active with six DEIS schools within the area, by offering Boxing Fitness classes in the schools. In recent times, particular onus was focused on girl’s schools, in an attempt to increase more female participation in Sport. The club also has engaged the following projects in a variety of Boxing fitness programmes: • SWAY, BALL, TYRE, PACT Garda Youth Diversion Projects • Three Early School Leaving projects (WYTEC, Youthreach, LTI,) • Two School Completion Programmes • Ceim Eile ( HSE funded project for people in recovery from alcohol/ drug misuse) http://aiseiri.ie/treatment/ • U-Casadh (Ex prisoners project and Community Employment scheme) • TREO (probation Service) • Over 50’s Fighting Fit programme • StartBox programme for primary schools • Boxing for Third Level Students in Waterford Institute of Technology.
St. Paul’s Boxing Club would like to thank Rosarie Keeley and the team at the Waterford Sports Partnership, Sports Capital funding and grants from the Waterford City & County Council through the LCDC. Their help has allowed the club to extend their gym and increase its involvement in the community.
The 2021 – 2022 season has been one of the club’s best; they already have four National Champions – John Paul McDonagh, Michael O’Reilly, Danny O’Reilly & Shamie McDonagh. Michael will compete in the National Juvenile Championships over the coming week and hopefully add his second and the club’s fifth title this year to the ever-growing list. “
