Mixed fortunes for local ladies in championships

The Irish Ladies’ Boxing Championships, which got underway last Friday in the National Stadium in Dublin and continued through Saturday.

There was an entry of 265 for the championships and this eventuality put enormous stress on judges and referees alike, with Ennis officials Tommy Lyons and Sean Carrig immersed in the marathon session which ran from 9.30am to11.15pm on that night, will conclude at the same venue on Friday and Saturday.

Clare boxers met with mixed fortunes, ­fluctuating from the highs of Sally Carrig (Ennis) and Louise O’Regan from Kilfenora winning 65kg and 85kg respectively by virtue of walkovers to the lows of defeat for European contender and hot favourite Caoilinn McCormack from the Kilfenora club.

The Kilfenora girl never reached the form of last season when she captured the Irish title and lost out 10-6 to Ulster champion Rebecca Gorman from the Clann Naofa club in Lurgan. Caoilinn had remained unbeaten since last year but suffered from flu symptoms in the days before the championships and lost out comprehensively .
Cousin and sparmate Shannon McCormack kept hopes alive for the fighting family, with a ­resounding 17-2 victory in the 5-54kg semi-final against Portlaoise girl Laura Walsh.

Shannon now meets Castlebar girl Gráinne Gavin in Saturday’s final and is fancied to take the title.
Tara Dowling from the Ennis club was another to make her exit in the semi-finals. She was beaten comprehensively by Shannon Edge from Ryston in Newbridge.

The Kildare girl made all the right moves in this one and never allowed the Ennis girl to get out of the blocks. Her jabbing and ­combination punching were impeccable and the result was a 10-2 winning margin for her accuracy and ringcraft.

Surprise packet Rebecca Windall from the Ennis club beat the favourite for the 70kg Youth 5 title, Dale O’Neill from the St Saviour’s club in Dublin on a 10-6 scoreline. Shelooks forward to her final battle with Rhia Devlin from Belfast on Saturday.

The Ennis girl led all the way against the Dubliner and her left jab was unerring all through her three rounds of action. This is young Windall’s first year of competitive boxing and Ennis club officials are delighted with her progress to date.

Kilfenora’s Sinéad Collins failed in her semi-final against Leinster champion Helen Carty from the Paulstown club in Kilkenny on a 18-4 scoreline.

The Kilkenny girl had superb footwork and agility and she picked off her ­scoring punches with ­unerring accuracy against the bemused Kilfenora fighter.

The championships, which draw to a close on Saturday evening, have once again illustrated the strength in depth of ladies boxing in Clare and in Kilfenora in particular, where national titles come in abundance.