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.

Katie Taylor must wait until Monday to start her campaign underway at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao, where her quest for a fourth successive lightweight title is overshadowed by her search for Olympic qualification.

KENNY EGAN took a major step towards the world championships and, ultimately, next year’s London Olympics when he outpointed Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett BC) in a heavyweight semi-final that had its share of controversy at last night’s box-offs at the National Stadium.

THE High Court has awarded over €170,000 to the mother of a two-year-old girl who died after contracting meningitis.

KATIE TAYLOR sparred with world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux when he visited Limerick a few weeks ago and now she has been added to the undercard at the CityWest Convention Centre on Saturday night when the double Olympic champion defends his WBA super bantamweight title against Willie “Big Bang” Casey.

A Drimnagh man is to have his trial take place before the Special Criminal Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions stated that ordinary courts are “inadequate” to deal with it.

A Dublin teenager has received two life sentences for what was today described as the "brutal and savage" murders of two Polish men.

A Drimnagh teenager stabbed two Polish mechanics through their heads, possibly with a screwdriver, outside their Dublin home on a February evening two years ago, it has emerged.

JOHN JOE JOYCE (St Michael’s, Athy) was celebrating his move up to welterweight with another national title at the National Stadium last night but the defending champion, Willie McLaughlin (Illies GG, Donegal), was scratching his head on the wrong side of a 12-9 verdict.

TWO years ago Kenneth Egan was at a crossroads in his boxing career after a disappointing performance at the world championships in Chicago while qualification for the Olympics still eluded him.

Katie Taylor won her fourth European title in a row following an 11-0 decision over Turkey's Meryem Aslan Zeybek in today's lightweight final in the Ukraine.

DARREN SUTHERLAND packed eight months of frustration into five minutes of boxing last night before he stopped Eddie Healy (Portlaoise) midway through the third round of the middleweight semi-final at the National Stadium.

Tralee side Abrakebabra Tigers will face Merry Monk Ballina missing several key players in the NIVEA for Men SuperLeague this weekend.

Drimnagh Dynamos 54 Vienna Woods Glanmire 44

ESB Women’s Superleague results:

Sx3 Star's Gareth Maguire and Adrian Fulton, along with Mardyke UCC Demon's Brian Clernon, have been short-listed to receive the Irish Basketball Player of the Year award 2003.