Cork boxers attention now turn to the national championships at the National Stadium

Following the recent completion of the county and Munster boxing championships, the focus now for all clubs and boxers is the national championships, and they commenced last Friday night at the National Stadium in Dublin.

These championships will be contested over three weekends, with two rings available at the famed South Circular Road venue. 

The boys and girls 4, and 5 and junior 1 and 2 will be striving for that elusive All-Ireland medal and the honour of being proclaimed a national title holder. 

The Cork County Boxing Board has extended best wishes to all competing boxers. 

At the recent annual Fraternity Association awards, which took place at Hickeys Emporium in Dromahane, three other special awards were presented. 

These were presented by Conal Thomas, and the first awardee was Seanie Barrett, Rylane BC, for his outstanding work in the development of amateur boxing over thirty years. 

Seanie won two national Elite titles and in recent years coached Linda Desmond, Rylane BC, to win both senior and two Elite titles.

The second award was presented to John J Murphy, chairman of the Cork Ex-Boxers Association, in respect of his very solid work on the ground in the promotion of the sport. 

Ten years ago, JJ Murphy led a delegation of former boxers around to many clubs and erected plaques on the wall. 

Amongst those clubs was Charleville BC, and this year that club won the Mannix Shield as the most successful club at the 2026 Cork County Board Boxing Championships. 

To complete a magnificent double for this thriving club, their head trainer Tom O'Donnell was announced as the Cork Boxing Coach of the year, and he was presented with this accolade by John Morrissey of the Golden Gloves club. 

John is a former winner of this award and held the prestigious honour in 2024.

The third award presented by Conal Thomas went to the most famous Cork face in boxing, who is widely known throughout Europe and the United States. 

Gary Spike O'Sullivan was a very popular choice and received a great ovation from the assembled multitudes at the Dromahane event. 

The former Loughmahon clubman won the Irish middleweight title and went on to win the WBO International belt and the WBO Inter-continental belt, in addition to chalking up many other great victories in various parts of the world, including his famous win over Douglas in Quebec, Canada.

Meanwhile, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy wishes to present the Cork County Boxing Board with a perpetual cup to facilitate intercity boxing events. 

This trophy will be known as the Lord Mayor's Cup, and it will further enhance the strong bond which has existed between the city council and the Cork Boxing Board for the last 90 years.

Elsewhere, Last Sunday morning at the City Hall, the City Council officially marked International Women's Day and invited ladies from all strands of society to reflect on the role of the woman in today’s cosmopolitan world. 

The Cork County Boxing Board were delighted to nominate three officers of the board to attend and share their experiences within the realm of amateur boxing in Ireland. 

The three women who attended were Nicola Murphy, treasurer, Louise Forde, registrar, and Rose Murphy, ringside timekeeper. 

The Child Protection Officer Aine McLoughlan was also nominated to attend, but she was abroad on vacation. 

However, Aine did make a written submission to the IABA in Dublin regarding her own experiences with the organisation over many years. 

She stated that she felt she was being ignored on many occasions and made jump through hoops to get things done.

In despair she asked the president and secretary of the Cork board to intervene and only after their representations to Dublin was she taken seriously.

In her submission, which was published by the IABA on their website, she said the following.

"The Cork board were among the first in the country to embrace the roll of woman in sport and introduced a gender balance in all their projects. "The executive committee of the current Cork Board has a composition of three male and four female officers," and she concluded by adding that many people in Irish boxing today take a close look at how the Cork board operates. 

The event in the City Hall was a great success, and the organisers were congratulated by the ladies Cork boxing delegation.

Meanwhile, on Friday, 20th March next, at the Glen Boxing Club in Blackpool, commencing at 11am, a mass will be celebrated by Fr Con O'Doherty for all those great Cork boxing people who are now deceased. 

The families of these boxers are warmly invited to attend. 

The names of those boxing people who are submitted in advance will be placed on the altar including the name of Tomas MacCurtain, who at the time of his death was the president of the Glen Boxing Club. 

Friday, 20th March, is the anniversary of MacCurtain. 

All Cork former Lord Mayors will be invited to attend the mass. 

The readings will be delivered by the current Lord Mayor Cllr Fergal Dennehy. 

The High Hopes choir will sing at the mass. 

Following this, refreshments will be served and then a great opportunity will be provided for all to take a trip down memory lane by visiting the magnificent Tomas MacCurtain Boxing Museum.