Dear Members,

National Elite Championships

The IABA are delighted to announce that Sport Ireland and the Return to Sport Expert Group have agreed to allow the staging of our flagship event, the National Elite Senior Championships. The National Elite Senior Championships 2021 are now provisionally scheduled to begin on the 17th of September and the finals taking place on the first weekend of October 2021. Any boxers who have previously registered for the last scheduled Elite Championships will be considered registered for the September event. All athletes wishing to compete in this September’s Elite Championships 2021 must first complete the new online entry form. This form will be available through the website www.iaba.ie for more information please contact the National Secretary Paddy Gallagher via email at paddy@iaba.ie.

With immediate effect Boxers from different clubs who are registered for the Elite Championships will be allowed to meet up with other registered boxers for full contact training and sparring in an out-door environment (In pods no greater than 15 and in line with the required protocols. For more information on Covid-19 protocols please visit –http://iaba.ie/covid-19-guidance/).

The National secretary will publish an updated list of entries for the convenience of all. More information in relation to our National Elite Championships 2021 will be made available to members in the coming days and weeks.

Olympic Games

This fantastic news comes on the back of what has been an amazing couple of weeks for Irish boxing. Boxing again is at the forefront of Irish Olympic sport winning 50% of the Irish medals won at the Tokyo games and finishing a very impressive 7^th in the boxing medals table. Huge credit must go to the High Performance Director Bernard Dunne and his coaching team Zauri, John and Dmitri who did a fantastic job preparing the team and making sure the athletes were in peak condition for the games. We would also like to thank all the HP support staff for their hard work behind the scenes which was a key component to the overall success. 

Special mention must also go to all the athletes Kellie, Aoife, Michaela, Aidan, Kurt, Brendan and Emmet who all gave a wonderful account of themselves throughout the games and are a credit to themselves, their families, their clubs and the IABA. Particular congratulations to Gold Medallist Kellie Harrington and Bronze Medallist Aidan Walsh on their tremendous achievements.

Return to Indoor training

We would like to take this opportunity to ensure all of our members that we are acutely aware of the level of frustration being felt throughout the sport, due to the restrictive nature of the Covid-19 guidelines under which boxing has had to operate during the pandemic. Please be aware this frustration is felt and mirrored throughout the entire organisation. The IABA is continuing to work closely with Sport Ireland to facilitate all our members being able to return to normal training and competition setups. As soon as there is an update, we will communicate this with all members. Please be assured that we will provide time for our members to prepare ahead of any competitions taking place.

The IABA want to thank all members for their continued patience and support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IABA is actively working with the Return to Sport Expert Group in an effort to ensure indoor sparring for preparation for all entries to the Elite championships in a safe and responsible manner can be undertaken as soon as possible but for clarity only outdoor sparring is permitted until further notice.

It should be noted, that the IABA is not responsible for establishing Covid-19 guidelines as they relate to boxing or any other area of society. Our role is to follow government guidelines and prepare boxing specific protocols for our members, which are submitted to and reviewed by the Return to Sport Expert Group prior to being implemented. The IABA from both a legal and insurance perspective, must adhere to these guidelines.

While it is frustrating to see other sports operating more freely than boxing we all must remain cognisant of the fact that these are outdoor sports which operate under a different set of guidelines. The government guidelines for all indoor sport are more restrictive. While we fully understand and accept the frustration members are feeling we would ask members to refrain from comparing boxing to other sports which don’t operate under the same restrictions.

The IABA is continuing to work very closely with Sport Ireland and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate our members being able to return to indoor training and competition as soon as possible.

We are very hopeful that there will be a break-through very soon with additional announcements in relation to the further easing of restrictions on indoor sports in the coming weeks and as soon as there is an update, we will communicate this with all our members.

The Irish boxing team arrived home from the Tokyo Olympics this afternoon via Dublin Airport.

Kellie Harrington won gold at the Games and Aidan Walsh claimed bronze.

Please scroll down for pictures of Kellie and Aidan and the Irish boxing team.

Dear Members,

For the avoidance of any doubt, a Club, County Board or Provincial Council who intend holding ‘in-person’ meetings over the coming weeks and months,  whether indoors or outdoors, must first ensure that they follow all the government guidelines that apply at that particular time.

This includes protocols around contact tracing, venue spacing, vaccinations, mask wearing etc. For clarity, it is strongly recommended that all meetings that can be conducted electronically, should continue to do so.

Kind regards,

Paddy Gallagher

National Secretary

Ireland finished in 7th spot in the medals table at the Tokyo Olympics.

Kellie Harrington won gold and Aidan Walsh claimed bronze to fire Ireland into a top ten position.

Cuba topped the medals table.

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The Officer Board of the IABA would like to offer our congratulations to our new Olympic Champion Kellie Harrington on her tremendous achievement.

Kellie has shown that hard work and perseverance pay off. Kellie had to wait for her opportunity as during the last two Olympic cycles, another gold medalist in Katie Taylor assumed the number one ranking in the lightweight division. Despite this, Kellie proved her abilities in the light-welterweight division and medalled there at world level whilst waiting for the chance to shine at her natural weight division.

When the occasion came, Kellie didn’t disappoint. She won medals at European Championships and European Games before going on to claim a much deserved World Championship Gold medal in the lightweight division. This achievement further inspired her to go one step further and reach for the ultimate goal of becoming Olympic Champion.

On the long and winding road, Kellie always remained positive and her coaches along this journey helped her progression. Her current club coach Noel Burke in St. Mary’s B.C. has been instrumental in her push for success. His attention to detail in all aspects of her training has furthered her development into the best boxer in the world.
The High Performance coaches Zaur Antia, John Conlon and Dmitry Dmitruk, under the guidance of Bernard Dunne as H.P. Director, have provided an environment in which Kellie could further hone her skills and test herself against world class opposition in both training camps and International competition. 

She has now achieved what many boxers and other sports people can only dream about. She has scaled her Everest and now every young sports person can look up to her as a shining example of what can be achieved with true determination. 

Kellie is an inspiration to everyone and she represents boxing in the way that it should be represented. She is humble, caring, selfless and never gets overawed, regardless of the situation. She truly is a credit to her family and to the sport of boxing. We are very proud of Kellie for everything she has done and to the rest of our boxing team also who brought pride to the country.

Paddy Gallagher 

National Secretary