THE National Girls and Youth Championships will get under way in the National Stadium, Dublin on this Friday and will round off the boxing season for all aspiring combatants.
There will be six entries from Clare in the draw, which will follow the weigh-in and medical on Friday morning. Boxing will get under way at 1.30pm, continuing on Saturday afternoon, with the finals scheduled for Friday week.
Top of the contenders from Clare, which includes three each from the Kilfenora and Ennis clubs, will be reigning Irish champion Rebecca Windall, who successfully defended her provincial title last month and has moved up to her new 70kg category with relative ease.
The Ennis Rice College student is highly rated and fancied to come through for her second title, but will find Ulster champion, Chloe Moore, a formidable opponent should they meet. Rebecca is in good physical shape after an early season injury and is looking forward to emulating the feats of clubmate Sally Carrig.
The two other aspirants from the Ennis club are twins Sarah and Patricia Coote, who hail from Inagh and relish the prospects of their first trip to the stadium for championship action. Sarah weighs in at 36kilos and Patricia makes the 39kg category in their quest for glory.
Kilfenora’s Shannon McCormack is in sparkling form at present and will lead the North Clare contingent with relish. She was spectacular in the Doolin BC tournament last month, beating last year’s champion Jayne Butler from Ballinrobe in Mayo. She followed it up with a comprehensive victory in the Munster finals.
Anna Considine in the 46kg class and Cloda Collins in the 70kg Youth 1 class will be making their respective debuts on Friday. Cloda is experienced and busy in sport generally and plays inter-county football in her crowded schedule but she also relishes the prospect of contesting the Irish Championships.
It would be a huge boost for ladies boxing in the Banner County if the girls could annex one or perhaps two titles.
It’s almost certain that should McCormack or Windall come through, they will be drafted onto the Irish team for the upcoming Europeans in August.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.