John Joe Nevin felt more pressure making his professional debut on Monday night in Boston than going into the 2012 Olympic final in London.

John Joe Nevin believes more of Ireland’s world-class amateur boxers will inevitably follow him into the paid boxing ranks, but not because of anything he may achieve in a career which was mapped out in considerable detail in Dublin yesterday.

John Joe Nevin has stated he wants to win a World title fight at Croke Park, after it was confirmed at a press conference in Dublin this afternoon that he has made the switch to professional boxing.

Wayne McCullough wants to be the man to help John Joe Nevin make the transition from the amateur game to the pro ranks and believes he can make the Mullingar man a world champion.

Ireland have been hit with a body blow ahead of next month’s AIBA World Elite Boxing Championships with the news that world No 1 ranked bantamweight John Joe Nevin is on the verge of turning professional.

Olympian John Joe Nevin’s wife and cousin will not be convicted for carrying out an illegal collection to raise money to send the Nevin family to the Olympics.

The secretary of Olympian John Joe Nevin’s boxing club has been asked to appear before a district court to explain how Mr Nevin’s family carried out an illegal door-to-door collection before the Games in London.

There was a festival atmosphere on the streets of Mullingar as thousands of fans lined the streets to welcome home Westmeath’s Olympic heroes.

Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin insisted yesterday that Irish boxing cannot afford to lose coaches Billy Walsh or Zaur Antia and that everything possible should be done to keep the high performance team together.

Katie Taylor took her first step towards London 2012 qualification with an emphatic 19-6 victory over Tunisian Rim Jouini at the women’s world championships in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao yesterday.

With Katie Taylor preparing to glove up for her shot at Olympic qualification this morning (7am Irish time), flyweight Ceire Smith moved excitingly close to a place in the London Games by claiming a second victory at the Women’s World boxing championships in Quinhuangdao, China, yesterday.

Water restrictions are still in place in many parts of the country tonight.

Water restrictions are set to be eased on some businesses for New Years Eve.

Local authority crews across the country are working to repair leaks, restore water supplies and replenish reservoir levels.

Water restrictions are likely to remain in place in Dublin for the time being.

LOCAL authorities around the country are instigating water conservation measures as the post-freeze problems of burst pipes worsen.

THREE friends have set off on a road trip to Mongolia to raise money for seriously ill children.

HAD Andrew Murray taken the medical advice offered him, he would never have donned a pair of boxing gloves. But, do date, he has won three national senior titles as an amateur and, as a professional, holds the Irish light welterweight belt.

Sinn Féin has blamed loyalists returning from the abandoned Love Ulster march in Dublin for riots in Portadown, Co Armagh, early yesterday morning.

Sectarian rioting which left six PSNI officers injured may have been triggered by the violence that engulfed Dublin, an MP claimed tonight.

The seizure of six million smuggled cigarettes during a Northern Ireland Customs and Excise crackdown has resulted in four men appearing in court.

Police in Northern Ireland are investigating two explosions in Co Armagh early today.