Record medal haul leaves Kirwan jubilant

FINBARR KIRWAN, High Performance Director with the Irish Sports Council (ISC), praised not only the achievement of the Irish boxers at the European championships in Moscow but their commitment, the preparations and the team that masterminded the record medal haul.

“Second on the medals table is phenomenal – there were 41 nations represented here – and there were no easy bouts,” Kirwan said.

“The lads were exceptional. The preparation was good, we had the Kazaks in Dublin and then we went to Ukraine – I don’t know if we will be welcome back in the Ukraine again – and Billy (Walsh) and his team did outstanding work.

“Paddy (Barnes) was obviously on top of his game. He followed instructions to the letter and thoroughly deserved the gold medal.

“Darren O’Neill was again involved in the best bout of the tournament and it was a lot closer than the score would suggest. He got hit very hard in that final but he showed great courage and great class.

“This was all about courage and commitment. Tyrone McCullough broke his left hand with the very first punch in his semi-final and he boxed through the pain.

“We are delighted to be in a position to pay out some medal bonuses – it will be expensive for us – but it is all deserved.

“To perform like this on an international stage is truly remarkable. We were at the Embassy in Moscow last night and it was brought home to us just how much our boxers are respected in Russia where boxing is a major sport.”

Head coach Billy Walsh said: “It was a fantastic achievement by all the boys out here.

“We are second on the medal table and that’s beyond our wildest expectations – to come second to the Russians in Russia. That’s fantastic for the programme and for Irish amateur boxing.

“As coach I am very proud of the team. It’s fantastic what they achieved. It is nice to be up there and to be recognised to be up there with the best in the world.

“I am absolutely delighted not just for myself but for the full staff, Zaur Antia, Jim Moore, the staff in the office and all the support staff around us. They make this team tick. I am absolutely thrilled.”

Irish team manager, Des Donnelly, described it as another milestone in Irish boxing.

“Going home with a gold, a silver and three bronze medals from a major championship is huge,” he said.

“We had all the traditional power houses of boxing here. We came here with nine boxers – not a full team – Paddy Barnes was not long after a hernia operation and did not get as much training in as he would have liked.

“We are already looking forward to the future.

“I have been with the lads for well over a year and Billy (Walsh) Zaur (Antia) and Jim (Moore) have done great work with them.”