Christina Desmond set the standard and paved the way for all other young girls to follow in boxing

The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy hosted a delightful reception at City Hall recently to mark the retirement from amateur boxing of, Christina Desmond, Cork's most successful boxer in the history of the sport on Leeside.

At the reception Christina was accompanied by many members of her family in addition to many other guests who represented all strands of Cork boxing. 

The Lord Mayor said he was delighted to pay tribute to a truly outstanding athlete who became a household name in Irish sport and was a great ambassador for amateur boxing. 

The Lord Mayor welcomed all to his office including the 15 young athletes who over the last three years as Cork boxers represented Ireland on both the European and World stage. 

Also present on the day were members of the Cork County Boxing Board.

The first half of the ceremony took place in the council chamber, and the invited guests occupied every seat and vantage point in the iconic hall which has been the seat of local government in Cork since it opened its doors in 1936.

The president of the boxing board Michael O'Brien then addressed all and began by thanking the Lord Mayor for his invitation to mark such a unique occasion. 

O'Brien then went on a gave a resumè of Christina's achievements in the sport.

"Christina has been involved in amateur boxing now for 18 years and during that time she, as a trail blazer, has raised the bar very high, but more importantly, she has attracted many young aspiring women to take up the sport, and today it is flourishing in both the city and county.

"I can recall Christina's first official visit to the city hall in 2013.

"She was invited by the then Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy who also proved to be an excellent exponent of the prestigious office and also travelled to Belfast in an official capacity to see Cork boxers win the Lagan to the Lee cup in 2014.

"However, on that November day in 2013, Christina was the toast of all supporters of the noble art as she had just returned from the world junior championships where she won the silver medal, and this was seen as a magnificent achievement.

"Following this the young athlete was selected to represent Ireland at the junior Olympics which took place in Nanjing in China. 

"In 2014, which was the centenary year of the Cork boxing board a big event took place at Bishop Lucey Park, and Christina's name appeared on a plaque honouring all Cork boxing Olympians since 1924."

Amidst a carnival atmosphere featuring bands and balloons, Micheàl Martin officially unveiled the Olympic plaque. 

There was a huge attendance in the park, and the event was televised by TG4, Micheàl and Christina both gave interviews as gaeilge. 

Christina was congratulated on the day by inspector Eileen Forrister, who was representing the Gardai. 

Today, Eileen is an assistant commissioner, and Christina is a member of the Gardai. 

The next ten years was a very defining period in the Christina Desmond success story.

In that illustrious period beginning in 2015, she won six elite national titles and the highest grade of medal for any Cork boxing athlete was an elite European Championship medal. 

This was the crowning glory of her remarkable career.

Her first introduction to boxing came when she met Tom Power and John Casey in the now defunct Macroom boxing club. 

Power has been with her as a coach all through the years and fully deserves to be acknowledged for the success he achieved with Christina. 

For many years Christina has been referred to as the Queen of Cork boxing. 

She has always been a great help to many of Cork's young female boxers, and always on hand with encouragement. 

To mark her visit to the Lord Mayor's office recently, The Cork County Boxing Board invited 15 of Cork's international boxers and all of these are multi-winning All-Ireland champions, including Claire Crowley, who returned to Cork as a national U19 champion last Saturday. 

All of these boxers were also honoured by the Lord Mayor, and he presented each with a special engraved and dated medal, acknowledging their status as international boxers.

Following Christina’s retirement from the amateur code, the board president announced that double Elite champion and seasoned international, Linda Desmond of Rylane BC, would now wear the mantle as the Leeside captain of the Cork international boxing group. 

As the Lord Mayor made the presentation on behalf of the Cork County Boxing Board, Christina received a very well-deserved standing ovation and everyone in the Lord Mayor's office was proud of Christina’s boxing achievements and none more so, than her father Criostòir and family, who rallied with her on every step of the road.

All of Cork boxing wished her well in her professional career.