DONEGAL HAD good success at the weekend in the Ulster 9 Counties Championships for Boys and Girls aged 14, 15, 16 and 17.
At the Erins Own GAC in Toome, Donegal came away with 12 titles, with seven Donegal punchers winning finals in the ring and a further five claimed by way of walkover successes.
Illies Golden Gloves duo John Moran and Brian Elliott; Dunfanaghy ABC pair Sean Kelly and Ciara Craig; Letterkenny ABC’s Paddy McShane; Raphoe ABC’s Oisin McHugh; and Finn Valley ABC’s Leon Gallagher were all victorious in the ring.
Picture caption: Illies Golden Gloves boxers who competed in the 9 Counties Ulster Boxing Championships in Toome, County Antrim.
Jesse Callaghan finalist, Chloe McDaid winner, John Moran winner and Brian Elliott winner.
[adrotate group=”46″]Titles also came back to Donegal in the arms of Raphoe’s Cody Lafferty with Chloe McDaid and Kristina McFadden making it a treble for both Illies and Dunfanaghy, while Carrigart’s Barry Donnelly and Carndonagh’s Labhaoise Clarke also won via walkovers.
Three-time Irish champion Moran was excellent in his win over Daniel McCrudden from Emyvale. Moran won the Joe Lavery Memorial Cup having been named as the Boxer of the Championships.
The diminutive Illies man was the unanimous victor in the 49kgs final in the 17-year-old classification.
[adrotate group=”88″]St Eunan’s College student and Illies middleweight Elliott dispatched of Churchlands’ Michael Dallat. The contest was stopped in the second round with Elliott well in command.
Gallagher, the Finn Valley hammer-hand, was back on the winners’ podium after a superb 81kgs win over John Doherty from All Saints.
Letterkenny ABC youngster McShane completed a wonderful year in which he won two Irish titles by winning at 36kgs. McShane, fresh from his Boy 3 and Junior Cadet Irish crowns earlier in the year, defeated East Down’s Oisin Mulholland on a split decision.
Raphoe ABC’s McHugh claimed the narrow win in an all-Donegal final in the Junior 1 final against Fionan Rodgers of Dungloe at 57kgs.
[adrotate group=”76″]Dunfanaghy was celebrating a quick-fire double as Kelly and Craig took titles within minutes of each other.
The 16-year-olds both out-boxed their opponents to claim memorable wins. Kelly saw off St Paul’s Conor Lenaghan in the 48kgs final with Craig back in the winners’ enclosure thanks to an emphatic triumph against Shannon McKenna at 52kgs.
In all, Donegal returned 12 titles, including a landmark win for Carndonagh ABC star Clarke, who was lifting the 30th title of an already-fine career that has the makings of getting better still.
A number of other Donegal boxers made their finals, but lost out on the day: Letterkenny’s Joe Harkin was beaten by St Pat’s Tiarnan Conway (Boy 4, 42kgs); Illies’ Jesse Callaghan lost out to Jon McConnell from Townland (Boy 4 44kgs); Molly Simmons from Carn was edged by Nicole Clyde from Antrim (Girl 4 50kgs); former Irish champion Eoin McGarrell, now with Raphoe, lost out to Immaculata Strabane’s Danny Duffy (Junior 1 48kgs); Ryan Ward-Mulrine of Convoy had no joy against Carrickmore’s Barney Corcoran (Junior 1 60kgs); at Junior 1 66kgs, St Monica’s Joe Murphy held sway against Carndonagh’s Oisin Devlin; while Carn middleweight William Callaghan was beaten by Holy Trinity’s Kane Tucker; and Dungloe’s Odhrán Mac Ruairi suffered a loss against Old School’s Zach Mallen.
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