ANTRIM welterweight Aidan Walsh is the last man standing from the team that won five medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games five years again, according to the Irish News.
Stephen McKenna (gold), James McGivern (gold), Tiernan Bradley (silver) and Brett McGinty (silver) have all turned over to the paid ranks in recent years.
Walsh will be cheering them all on as they step up through the gears, but the west Belfast counter-puncher has no plans to ditch the vest any time soon.
“I’m the only amateur left,” said the 23-year-old, who brought gold home from Samoa in 2015.
“All those lads will go on and do really well, but my goal is the Olympics. If the big offers follow, then I’ll think about it.
“For now though, it’s all about Tokyo and maybe the next Commonwealths. I’d love to go there and get gold after getting silver last time [at the 2018 Games].
“You never know what’s around the corner as the past six months have shown us but, at the minute, getting qualified for the Olympics is all that matters.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CLUBS IN RELATION TO TRAINING DURING LEVEL 3 RESTRICTIONS 25/09/2020: CO. DONEGAL
Ireland has moved from a short-term emergency response approach to a medium-term approach to managing risk and repairing the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on society. A Framework for Restrictive Measures has been developed to help us to go about our daily lives as much as possible, while managing the behaviour of the virus.
As of today, midnight 25th September it has been announced that Co Donegal would move back into Level 3. Co Donegal will remain at Level 3 for at least 3 weeks until the 16th October at which point the situation will be reviewed by the government.
This is an addition to the announcement on the 18th September that Dublin would move into Level 3. Dublin will remain at Level 3 for a period of 3 weeks, until Friday 9 October, at which point the situation will be reviewed by the government, based on the status of the virus and the pertinent public health advice. These measures came into effect at midnight Friday 18th September.
The rest of Ireland is still currently at Level 2.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association have received some clarification from the Expert Group on Return to Sport regarding the application of Level 3 restrictions for our affiliated clubs in both Co Donegal and Dublin, below are the relevant points.
Level 3 Sporting Restrictions:
Outdoors: Non-contact training only in pods of up to 15 (exemption for professional/elite/ inter-county sports/senior club championship).
Indoors: Individual training only. No exercise or dance classes. While not explicitly noted in the Framework an exemption extends for professional/elite /inter-county sports/senior club championship with regards to indoor training)
No matches or events can take place. Exemption: professional/elite/inter-county/club championship/horse-racing can take place behind closed doors.
Level 3 allows for individual training only, no organised Group Activity including Exercise classes should take place.
Pod Training does not apply to activity indoors at level 3, as individual training only is permitted. No group exercise is permitted indoors in Level 3.
*Please note members who reside in Co Donegal and Dublin but who are involved with a club outside of the county are not permitted to travel outside Co Donegal or Dublin for any IABA activity.
The IABA will remain in discussions with the Expert Group on Return to Sport and will issue additional advisory information relating to level 3 restrictions as soon as it becomes available. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clubs for their cooperation and hard work during this extremely difficult and testing period. Please Stay Safe and keep updated of all public health measures. For more information please visit:
Now in its third year, National Lottery Good Causes Awards are open to all community and voluntary groups and organisations like yours making an incredible difference in communities with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding.
All sports organisations, groups and projects who received grants between 2014-2019 via Sport Ireland are eligible to apply for this year’s competition under the Sports category. Applications for the Awards are now open (closing date Friday October 9th, 5pm) and you can enter at www.lottery.ie/goodcausesawards. Here you will also find full details of the competition including the rules and T&C’s.
The competition will have two rounds of judging from which a total of 36 organisations will go forward to the national final. This will culminate in an awards luncheon in the Mansion House, Dublin on Saturday 20th February 2021 (in strict adherence to Government health guidelines with regard to COVID-19).
The Sports category winner will receive €10,000 and the overall Good Cause of the Year, which will be one of the seven category winners, will receive an additional €25,000.
Should you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact Trish at the National Lottery on 087 1832604 – It would be great to get an application from you.
Action from an open air show at O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny in the 1940s
‘Boxing in Donegal: A history’ to chart the story of boxing in County Donegal
A NEW book to be published in December will chart the history of boxing in Donegal.
‘Boxing in Donegal: A history’ will be released on December 12 – 70 years to the day from the first recorded boxing tournament under the auspices of the Donegal Boxing Board.
The book, written by Donegal-based sports writer and author Chris McNulty, will explore the foundations of the sport in Donegal and deal with it’s growth and development in the decades prior to 1950, when an organised structure was put in place.
The Donegal Boxing Board was founded 70 years ago today, on September 18, 1950, at a meeting in St Conal’s Hospital, Letterkenny. The first Donegal Boxing Board operated under the Presidency of Dr JP McGinley from Letterkenny.
‘Boxing in Donegal: A history’ will feature the ten Donegal boxers who have won Irish Elite titles – Brian Anderson, Paddy Doherty, Eamon Coyle, Danny Ryan, Cathal McMonagle, William McLaughlin, Emma Bowe, Tyrone McCullagh, Jason Quigley and Maeve McCarron.
The book, which is being published locally in conjunction with the Donegal Boxing Board, will include some fascinating stories of Donegal punchers down the years.
Did you know that a Donegal-born boxer was recognised as a world welterweight champion in 1913? Or that the family one of the finest flyweight boxers of all time hailed from Donegal.
“The Donegal Boxing Board is delighted to back the publishing of this book to mark a special milestone in the history of our sport,” Donegal Boxing Board President Peter O’Donnell said.
“All of the clubs in the county have rowed in behind the project and have been very generous in submitting details and photographs for inclusion.
“The book is endorsed by both the IABA and the Ulster Boxing Council.
“Boxing has a rich and storied history in Donegal and it is brilliant that we will now have a proper record of the many great boxers and boxing people who have worked tirelessly inside and outside the ring.
“This will be a must-read book for all boxing fans in Donegal – and beyond.”
Chris McNulty is Sports Editor with the Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub websites and was honoured by the Donegal Boxing Board in 2016 for his coverage of the sport. The St Johnston native is the publicist of Donegal middleweight boxer Jason Quigley and has covered the sport extensively since 2005.
This will be his second book after his 2019 publication ‘Relentless: A Race Through Time’, the memoir of former Irish athletics team manager Patsy McGonagle.
He said: “The idea for the book came by pure accident during the Covid-19 lockdown. In researching for an article I was writing one day, I came on an old notice for the formation of the Donegal Boxing Board and realised that the Board was celebrating its 70th anniversary.
“No-one had realised when exactly the Board was first formed. After a conversation with Peter O’Donnell, the Donegal Boxing Board President, the wheels were very quickly put in motion.
“This book will act as an official history of boxing in Donegal. I felt that, rather than simply focus on the 70 years of the Board, it was important to also focus on the sport in the county prior to 1950 and I broadened the focus to include the stories of Donegal’s professional boxers and also boxers from who had success while competing elsewhere.
“I plan to include a list of every Irish champion from Donegal and it is quite an exhaustive list, going back through all grades and years.
“The current Donegal Boxing Board, led by my good friend Peter O’Donnell, and their member clubs have been very supportive and their endeavours have helped ensure that this book will come to fruition.”
Donegal boxer Jason Quigley on his way to winning the NABF middleweight title versus Glen Tapia in March 2017.
Sport Ireland, with help from ambassadors Eoghan McDermott, Kellie Harrington, and Brian Gregan, is calling on you, to get out and #BeActive for European Week of Sport 2020 which runs from the 23rd – 30th of September. There will be a mixture of online and offline events available to cater to the needs of every member of the community making it easy to #BeActive, even from the comfort of your front room.
Commenting on European Week of Sport, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland, John Treacy,said“With a focus on grassroots initiatives, the aim is to inspire people to be active on a regular basis and create opportunities in peoples’ everyday lives to exercise and move more. Research has shown that regular physical activity is good for both the mind and the body and in the current times, this is more important than ever. I look forward to seeing all of the events across the country this European Week of Sport and want to thank everyone who helps to make sport and physical activity available in their communities.”
