Martin is a Munster champion

Twelve-year-old Martin Mongans was crowned Munster 50kg boy 2 Munster boxing champion in Kilmallock recently.
A pupil at Ennis National school, Martin boxes out of the Our Lady of Lourdes Club in Limerick.
On his way to the title he stopped his opponent in both the semi-final and final.
He will box for the national title next week in Dublin. Martin comes from a family that is steeped in boxing.
His father, John, is a former Munster champion while his uncles and brothers have also boxed at provincial and national levels.

Clare boxers chase national honours

The National Boys’ Boxing Championships, traditionally held during school holidays in Easter, will get under in the National Stadium in Dublin next Monday, continuing through to Saturday, when the finals will be boxed off. Clare boxers, who had a fantastic innings in last year’s championships, will defend their titles and are hoping for a repeat of last year’s heroics, having come through the Munster championships in Cork last week.
54kg champion Conor Doyle defends his title next week, having come through Munster with a comprehensive 14-7 victory over Sean O’Brien from Dunmanway and looking just as sharp as he was last year, when he won his first national title in the 48kg class. The extra weight seems to have embellished Doyle’s punching power and hopes are high that he will add another title to his accomplishments.
60kg contender Mike McDonagh joins Doyle in the search for a title, having narrowly beaten Gary Butterfield from St Francis in Limerick in the final of the Munsters. This is a classy southpaw who has promised much but missed out on last year’s championships due to a shoulder injury and he stands a good chance of annexing his first national title come next week.
He was hard-pressed to beat the tenacious Butterfield last week and while the fighters finished level at 10-10, McDonagh came through on a 31-28 countback for victory and a ticket to Dublin.
Newcomer Martin C O’Doherty in the 42kg class is unbeaten this season in seven starts and he carried all the aces in his action-packed final with Jim Hutchinson from Tramore, having stopped Cork’s A McDonald in the second round of his semi-final. Hutchinson was a resilient character though and the final was a thriller, with the Ennis youngster winning on a 7-3 margin.
39kg debutant Jim McDonagh made his Confirmation on the Saturday but had to rush off after the ceremony and forego his family celebration to beat Bantry’s Eamonn Lyons 13-9 in the semi-finals. Although outgunned in the final against reigning champion Paddy O’Donovan (OLOL Limerick) he still managed to keep his battle alive right up to the final bell, losing out by a mere two points against the hard-hitting southpaw.
O’Donovan is a former Ennis boxer who now plies his skills with the Limerick club OLOL and both himself and his younger sibling, Edward, won provincial titles last Sunday.
Reigning champion Brian McDonagh, who did not defend his provincial title due to injury, will defend his national crown next week but he moves up in weight to the 63kg class and may be hard-pressed to recapture the form that saw him reap honours last season.
Two Clare girls, Tara Dowling from the Ennis club and Clodagh Collins from Kilfenora, won titles in the 60kg and 66kg divisions respectively.
Collins beat R Shine from OLOL and Dowling beat Macroom boxer Áine Kelleher and both will be in action in Kilfenora’s tournament in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon next Saturday night.
The Kilfenora show promises some marvellous entertainment, with all of the club’s fighters (male and female) in action against opponents from Galway, Limerick and Kerry.
The club’s mentors have spared no effort in making this their flagship opener and North Clare people will have good memories of great boxing tournaments at the Ennistymon venue during their halcyon years of the ’80s and ’90s. The show will benefit the Irish Cystic Fibrosis Society and a big crowd is anticipated at the venue, with the first bout scheduled for 7.30pm.
Ennis middleweight Keelan Sexton failed in his bid to add an Irish Cadets title to his three national titles at the National Stadium on Sunday last. Having beaten reigning champion Jonathan P Ward in the semi-finals on Saturday on an emphatic 11-4 margin, Sexton advanced to the final brimming with confidence.
However, he lost out to Castlebar fighter Jim Sweeney in a dour, unspectacular final in which he failed to make his mark with his trademark left hooks and was beaten 8-6.
Sexton’s season is not over by any means and he plans to take a little rest before resuming training in May, with the prospect of earning a call to international duty. It is hoped he will have a fight on Saturday night’s charity show in Ennistymon.