Staff Eire fly to Paris on Monday.
The ten robust workforce are presently having fun with a effectively earned break after the newest coaching camp ended this week. All ten will get in some household earlier than heading off to the Olympic village and on the point of contest on the best stage of all.
Paris 2024 might be solely the second time a 10-strong Irish boxing workforce contested a Video games, equaling the report set by the category of 1960, who competed within the Rome Olympics a sure Muhamad Ali gained mild heavyweight gold in.
Beneath we run via a really robust workforce.
50kg Daina Moorehouse; Enniskerry BC
A 4’ 11” pocket-rocket who famously used to rise every day at 6am to coach earlier than college, Moorehouse is an underage starlet who has graduated to senior notoriety.
The Wicklow surprise gained gold and ‘Greatest Boxer’ on the European Juniors in 2017 when she was simply 15 and has by no means seemed again.
In 2018 the Enniskerry flyweight beat a Russian to clinch the European Youth title and made the quarter-finals of World Youths. The underage medals continued to return and in 2019 she gained one other European Youth medal (bronze). In 2023 she reached the quarter-finals of European U22s and was deemed unfortunate to not get previous the identical stage on the European Video games.
Moorehouse’s senior emergence coincided with the pandemic and her progress was affected accordingly. She dominated domestically however superb she has but to win a senior Worldwide medal however will look to amend that over the approaching weeks.
54kg Jennifer Lehane; DCU Boxing Membership
Lehane invested absolutely in her Olympic dream and it paid off.
She initially starred in Taekwondo, successful two European senior titles and medals at World Junior and Seniors earlier than concentrating on boxing whereas learning in DCU. A Nationwide Elite title in 2021 put her firmly on the IABA Excessive-Efficiency radar and, simply two years in the past, she put her main educating job on maintain to coach fulltime. It helped her safe #1 spot in Eire and set her on the worldwide pathway.
Nonetheless the DCU boxer needed to overcome setbacks to lastly get on the airplane to Paris. Lehane was only one win quick eventually 12 months’s European Championships, overwhelmed by the eventual Bulgarian champion within the quarter-finals. On the first Olympic qualifiers in March she suffered a break up choice to France’s Romane Moulai however victories over a Puerto Rican, a Ukrainian and a Hungarian on the ultimate Olympic Qualifiers in Bangkok clinched her qualification.
57kg Michaela Walsh: Holy Household GG, Belfast
One in every of Eire’s most underrated sports activities stars, Michaela Walsh has been successful Worldwide medals for Eire for over a decade.
The Belfast featherweight’s first, a bronze at World Youths in 2011 adopted by a flyweight Commonwealth silver in 2014. Walsh put herself within the historical past books by repeating Commonwealth success in 2018 and 2022.
In 2018 when she additionally gained European Championship bronze, silver was the medal added to the gathering on the 2019 European Video games. The serial Irish titlist contested the final Olympics however misplaced within the medal struggle.
Bronze on the 2023 European Video games – her eighth main medal – additionally clinched her place in Paris. Walsh and her brother Aidan made historical past in 2021 as the primary sister/brother to ever compete in Olympic boxing and are repeating that achievement in Paris. Each compete at once more in France.
60kg Kellie Harrington: St. Mary’s BC, Tallaght
Harrington has already etched her identify in Irish sporting folklore.
The Dubliner is one in every of solely three boxers to win gold on the Video games – Michael Carruth and Katie Taylor the others. As reigning Olympic 60kg champion she has the possibility to turn out to be boxing’s first again to again gold medal winner.
Harrington’s is one other that has been doing it on the prime finish of worldwide sport for a while. Her first main was a World silver medal in 2016 (64kg) adopted by World title and European bronze at 60kg in 2018 and silver on the 2019 European Video games.
Regardless of the hand harm that delayed her qualification till June 2021 she turned Eire’s third Olympic boxing champion in Tokyo with a unanimous victory over Beatriz Ferreira (Brazil). Since then the St Mary’s BC fighter has added a European title (2022) and European Video games gold in 2023 (which clinched her place in Paris) and two Strandja titles in a exceptional three-year, 32-fight successful streak that started in February 2021. The run solely ended when the Interior Metropolis favorite was overwhelmed by Serbia’s Natalia Shadrina in Belgrade within the semi-finals of the 2024 Europeans, returning with a bronze to convey her main medal tally so far to eight (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).
66kg Grainne Walsh: St. Mary’s BC, Tallaght.
Grainne Walsh needed to battle arduous to recover from the qualification line coping with set again after set again to lastly turn out to be an Olympian.
That preventing spirit has been obvious all through her boxing profession and ever since she hung up her soccer boots to focus on boxing.
The Offally star was a World and European quarter-finalist way back to 2016 and ultimately gained a medal on the worldwide stage, claiming bronze on the 2019 European Video games. A thumb harm, which ultimately wanted surgical procedure, derailed her Tokyo dream however she made positive the Olympic dream was simply delayed not useless by reaching Paris.
Battling her approach to Irish no 1, Walsh seemed to have clinched her Olympic debut on the first qualifiers in Italy this 12 months however was on the mistaken finish of a break up choice and needed to go to the ultimate Qualifiers in Thailand in June the place she gained 4 fights, beating Armenia’s Ari Hovesepyan to lastly safe her ticket to Paris.
75kg Aoife O’Rourke: Castlerea BC
Aoife O’Rourke is Probably the workforce’s kind fighter and one other Irish sporting star who’s ignored exterior the realms of boxing.
The Castlerea fighter really took up boxing to get fitter for inter-county soccer however rapidly emerged as world class puncher, successful silver at her first main (European U22s) in 2018.
The older sister of World champion Lisa O’Rourke has an outstanding 27-1 report since making her Olympic debut in 2021 the place she misplaced to China’s two-time silver medallist Qian Li within the final 16, her solely loss since was to USA’s Naomi Graham within the 2022 World Championships.
This 12 months she gained her third consecutive European title in Budapest (2019, 2022 & 2024) and beat Qian Li en path to the celebrated Strandja title in February. The westerner secured early qualification for Paris by successful the 75kg eventually 12 months’s European Video games in Krakow.
57kg Jude Gallagher: Two Castles Olympic BC
Having emerged from one of many hardest divisions in current Irish boxing historical past, Jude Gallagher certified for his first Olympic Video games in March by successful 4 rounds of the primary Olympic Qualifying Event in Italy the place he needed to attain the highest 4.
A bronze medallist on the World and European Youth Championships in 2018, the Two Fort’s fighter gained Commonwealth gold in Birmingham in 2002, beating Joseph Commey within the ultimate however got here up in opposition to eventual winner Javier Ibanez, a former World Youth champion, on the 12 months? Europeans.
Gallagher was boxer of the match at 2024 Nationwide Elite Championships in a very stacked featherweight division. His qualification in Milan made him solely the second Tyrone boxer to turn out to be an Olympian, the primary since Tommy Corr fought in Los Angeles 40 years in the past.
63.5kg Dean Clancy: Sean McDermott BC
Sligo sensation Dean Clancy Dean Clancy is his county’s first-ever Olympic boxer. The Western expertise made historical past at the moment with victory over Italian champion Gianluigi Malanga at European Video games in June 2023.
The Sean McDermott man’s first main success was European junior silver in 2017. A 12 months later he gained silver on the European Youths and nearly replicated that on the Youth Olympics the place he misplaced a box-off for the one bronze on supply. In 2019, 4 weeks after turning 18, Clancy gained his first Irish senior title. In 2021 the westerner bounced again after a foul bout of Covid to win European U22 gold.
Clancy then contested the 2023 European Video games, coming dwelling with bronze and reserving his ticket to Paris within the course of. This 12 months he made the quarter-finals of the European Championships the place he misplaced to Azerbaijan’s Malik Hasanov.
71kg Aidan Walsh: Holy Household GG, Belfast
One in every of two Olympic medal winners Walsh was successfully retired this time final 12 months – however now finds himself a two-time Olympian. The Belfast mild middleweight first hit the headlines when he gained Commonwealth Video games silver medallist in 2018.
He’s crowning glory was a Olympic bronze in Tokyo by beating Merven Clair of Mauritius within the quarter-finals however an ankle harm prevented him from contesting the semi-finals.
The Holy Household man’s return to the Olympic stage is exceptional on condition that he contemplated retirement prior to now 12 months. The Matador returned to the HP unit earlier than a camp in Tenerife final November and got here via a gruelling ultimate Olympic Qualifier in Thailand in early June the place 70 welterweights chased 5 spots.
92kg Jack Marley: Monkstown BC, Dublin
Jack Marley has been touted as an potential Olympian since he gained his first his first All-Eire title at 11.
The gifted heavyweight has proved a quick learner and has been successful titles of observe all through his teenagers.
In 2021, aged 18, he turned the second youngest nationwide heavyweight champion in Irish newbie historical past. Marley additionally gained a bronze medal on the 2021European U22 Championships and turned that to gold in 2022.
Final 12 months ‘Huge Jack’ clinched Olympic qualification by successful silver on the European Video games in Krakow the place his semi-final victory over Spain’s world bronze medallist Emmanuel Reyes Pla was important. It not solely made him Monkstown BC’s first Olympian however the first Irish heavyweight to win a serious worldwide medal in over 60 years.
This 12 months the younger fighter gained a bronze medallist at Strandja and misplaced to Belgium’s Victor Schelstraete in a break up choice on the European Championships in April.
