A golden gloves affair for Ennis

ENNIS Boxing Club, celebrating 50 years of unbroken service to the youth of the town, pulled out all the stops on Saturday night last to showcase its impressive array of male and female fighters in the splendid arena in the West County Hotel, Ennis.
The venue has been synonymous with cracking tournaments in the past 30 years and this one was special to highlight the significance of a golden jubilee occasion and the boxers who are now the future of this club.
A special programme chronicled the club’s history with pictures of its heroes through the decades and while one wonders at the slow progress in the ’60s, the ’70s arrived with abundant and titles and champions became the norm for the club.
Ollie Markham signalled the club’s potential with a bang when he captured the Irish Senior Middleweight Championship in 1976 and to date, 64 national titles have found their way to the Ennis nursery.
Ladies boxing, buoyant since the arrival of Katie Taylor on the scene, is now competing for superiority in Clare boxing. Mickey Harte mentioned recently that ladies’ football is now as fluent and competitive as its male equivalent and people are flocking to all ladies’ championships. In boxing, the ladies are serving up prodigious entertainment in the halls all over Ireland and Saturday’s tournament highlighted the female boxing talent that is in the Ennis club at this time.
Lee Sherlock, Irish and Cadets silver medallist showcased his club’s progress and achievement with a wonderful lightweight display of southpaw skills to outpoint Munster champion Willie Harty from the Rathkeale club in Limerick. Harty came to fight and was worthy of the huge ovation he received at the end but in truth, he was thwarted and frustrated and incessantly beaten to the punch by the southpaw skills of Sherlock, who was to take the Steve Malone Best Boxer trophy for his emphatic points victory.
Top of the bill showpiece at welterweight between Ennis European medallist Keelan Sexton and Our Lady of Lourdes battler Jim Keenan from Limerick was a cracker and sent the capacity crowd home enthralled with the entertainment and intensity, which never once wavered through the three two-minute rounds.
Keenan it was who stunned the vocal home support as he landed with a couple of left uppercuts to the head and body early on but he tired through the latter part of the fight and young Sexton found his mark with accurate right-handers to sap the strength from his game adversary on his way to victory. This is a match, which would pack any boxing arena for intensity and skill but it is doubtful that either fighter will be anxious to renew rivalry in the immediate future, as they both prepare for the defence of their respective titles.
There was another cracking contest in the 63kg boys’ division when two Irish champions Brian McDonagh (Ennis) and Adam O’Donnell (St Francis Limerick) touched gloves for action and after three rounds of frenetic action, McDonagh was the unanimous winner. The Ennis lad was sharper and accurate with his left jab and hook and while O’Donnell was always a threat at close quarters, it was McDonagh’s ability at long range that captivated the crowd and gained the approval of all three judges.
The ladies showcased their abilities in the ring for the first time in a major tournament in Ennis, and all three, Tara Dowling, Antoinette Keane and Sally Carrig embellished their rising star status with riveting displays. Dowling, in the 60kg class beat St Paul’s fighter, Katie McElwain on a majority decision.
Antoinette Keane, last year’s 63kg Irish champion has been finding the graduation to the 66kg division a little tough and although she boxed well against Munster champion, Patrique Kelly from the St Francis Club in Limerick, she tired visibly in the final minutes and lost 2-1 to the Limerick girl after a fantastic battle.
Reigning Irish champ Sally Carrig started poorly in her battle with the talented Niamh Ball from the Trojan Club in Kerry and it was when she emerged for the second round with her unerring right-handers and left hooks to the head and body that she made her mark on the Kerry girl. A majority decision for Carrig was ample reward for her never-say-die attitude in a torrid battle of wits and courage.
Super heavyweights Cian O’Regan from Corpus Christi in Limerick and Stephen Forde from the St Paul’s Club in Nenagh served up a slugfest, which was thoroughly appreciated by the capacity crowd. It was Forde who prevailed in a close but warmly applauded decision in the end.
Local middleweight Wayne Danagher had a good win against Limerick’s Benny McNamara, whose big right-handers threatened disaster each time he unleashed them. Danagher, with solid defence and accurate left jabs, was always in command from long range and only once in the final round did he look vulnerable as McNamara piled on relentless pressure seeking an opening for his vaunted right hook.
It was a great night’s boxing and tournament chief John Carrig waxed lyrical for the evening, showcasing the local champions and aspirants alike. The guest of honour for the evening was Galway boxing legend, Chick Gillen, whose contribution to boxing and to the youth of Galway city for over 50 years was honoured on the night with a suitable presentation. Chick was accompanied by fellow activists, Sean Courtney and Paddy Farrell from the Olympic Club in Galway.

Results
Girls 60kg: Tara Dowling (Ennis) Beat Katie McElwain (St Paul’s).
66kg: Antoinette Keane (Ennis) Lost to Patrique Kelly (St Francis).
Boy 2 42kg: Conor Doyle (Ennis) Beat James Harty (Rathkeale).
Boy 3 52kg: Mike McDonagh (Ennis) Beat Gary Butterfield (St Francis).
Boy 4 50kg: Jamie Keane (Ennis) Beat Terry O’Brien (Rathkeale).
Feather weight: Simon McDonagh (Ennis) Lost to Steve Casey (Rathkeale).
Boy 3 63kg: Brian McDonagh (Ennis) Beat Adam O’Donnell (St Francis).
Welterweight: Dom McNamara (C’Christi) lost to John Harty (Rathkeale).
Lightweight: Lee Sherlock (Ennis) Beat Willie Harty (Rathkeale).
Light middle: Philip Moloney (St Francis) Beat Dave Saunders (St Paul’s)
Super heavy: Cian O’Regan (Corpus Christi) Lost to Steve Forde (St Paul’s).
Middleweight: Wayne Danagher (Ennis) Beat Benny McNamara (OLOL).
Girls 66kg: Sally Carrig (Ennis) Beat Niamh Ball (Trojan Kerry).
Welter Keelan Sexton (Ennis) Beat Jim Keenan (OLOL Limerick).
Referees: Finbarr O’Brien (Limerick); Tommy Lyons, Ollie Markham and Colum Flynn (Clare).
Judges: Kenneth Moore, Sean Carrig, Danny Fitzpatrick, Robbie Williams and Gavin Healy.
Timekeeper: Tony Roche (Ennis).
Tournament chief: John Carrig.