Punches were finally thrown in the ring at the National Stadium last night as a mooted box-off to decide Ireland’s super-heavyweight representative at next month’s European Championships resulted in a split-decision victory for Dean Gardiner.

Earlier this week, a box-off to decide Ireland’s super-heavyweight representative for next month’s European Championships was mooted to take place this evening. Instead of that fight taking centre stage, Irish boxing has been hit by yet another crisis — one which could last a far longer distance than the three rounds originally expected to be contested between Martin Keenan and Dean Gardiner at the National Stadium.

Gangland outrages reached terrifying new heights yesterday when four armed men — two dressed as gardaí and one dressed as a woman — shot dead one man and seriously injured two others at a Dublin hotel, in front of adults and children.

“We have 20 coaches who can do Billy’s job.” Of all the thousands of words spoken yesterday during a four-hour session of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communication — called to examine the story behind Billy Walsh’s loss to Irish amateur boxing — those nine stood out.

Former Ireland boxing head coach Billy Walsh has put his nightmare row with the sport’s chiefs behind him as he begins his “fairytale” new life in the US.

Six decades after a controversial World Amateur Road Race, Ryle Dwyer looks at a series of stunts at cycling events by militant Irish republicans

A Cork man accused of unlawfully killing a Polish man in his thirties confessed to the manslaughter today.

A Nigerian woman who claims her two young daughters are at risk of serious harm due to female genital mutilation (FGM) if the family is deported has commenced her latest legal challenge in a bid to prevent her and her family being returned to Nigeria.

A JUDGE who refused to stop a deportation order against a Nigerian mother, who fears her two daughters are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), yesterday agreed to disqualify himself from hearing separate judicial review proceedings also taken by the woman following an application from her lawyers.

A drugs "mule" has today been sentenced to 10 years in jail by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for smuggling almost €75,000 worth of cocaine into the country.

A LENGTHY legal battle by a Nigerian woman to prevent the deportation of herself and her two daughters on grounds of fear of female genital mutilation in Nigeria ended in failure at the High Court yesterday when it upheld the deportation orders.

BILLY WALSH won his first national boxing title in City Hall back in 1985 when the championships were staged in Cork as part of the “Cork 800” celebrations where Sugar Ray Leonard was among the celebrities watching him perform.

FORMER British champion Michael Gomez is facing one final fight to clear his name after bringing his eventful 10-year professional career to a close.

TOP BOXING promoter Brian Peters last night insisted there was nothing ‘suspicious’ in the controversial ending to Saturday’s Irish lightweight title fight between Michael Gomez and Peter McDonagh in Dublin.