Kellie Harrington: “Today, I felt like the underdog and I love that feeling of feeling like the underdog"

The Olympic champion has yet to decide on what comes next having claimed her 12th National Elites title three months after returning to the ring

Sat, 17 Jan, 2026 - 20:09

Brendan O'Brien

Kellie Harrington claimed her 12th Irish Elite boxing title at the National Stadium on Dublin’s South Circular Road on Saturday evening, and that’s quite enough for her for now, thank you very much.

For the rest of us? Now that she's back we inevitably want more.

Modern life is always on the move, looking ahead, thinking ahead. No sooner do athletes exit a ring, a track or a pitch than they have a microphone pointed at them and find themselves answering questions about the future when the instant past is still a haze.

So, yeah, Ireland’s two-time Olympic champion was more than happy to stay present after she claimed a unanimous decision at 60kg against Kellie McLoughlin, the reigning champion, out of St Catherine’s BC. Like, it’s less than three months since she officially came out of retirement.

Let's give her a minute here.

“I'm going to be very, very honest with you. I'm heading home to have something juicy tonight. Maybe not tonight because I'm actually full up with pasta and porridge and what have you, but my wife is somewhere in the crowd.

“Myself and another Kellie were boxing and all I could hear was my wife shouting, ‘that's it Harrington’ and I knew straight away. You know what, like, that's what it's about, you know? Like, yeah. I don't even know what else to say, I'm just...”

But, but, but Kellie. What next? What of the next Olympics, in LA in 2028. Or, forget that, what about this September when the next European Championships are being held in Bulgaria. Will it feature Kellie Harrington in an Irish singlet again?

“I'm not going to say it is and I'm not going to say it isn't because I'm just going with the flow. I'm just doing me and that's it.”

Kellie Harrington in action against Kellie McLoughlin during the finals of the 2026 National Elite Boxing Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

She’s earned her space and her choices.

This is an athlete who won her Olympic medals at legendary stadiums that have hosted legendary athletes. Her Olympic victories were recorded at sumo’s spiritual home in Tokyo in 2021 and Roland Garros in Paris in 2024. Big names, big places.

Harrington was the big name here, but in a very small place. Small physically, that is. The national Stadium is big on heart and on atmosphere, and a sizeable crowd had come to see the 15 finals being contested on this cold January night.

Harrington’s was one everyone wanted to see. She knew that, and it unnerved her.

“It's been a tough week, I'm not gonna lie, because sometimes it's actually easier to box in a different country when you don't know anybody who's outside the ring, and you know that it doesn't really matter how you go in there.

“When you're stepping in here, you're really under the spotlight. There's people who want to see you do well. There's people who want to see you getting beat. There's people who want to see the underdog coming on top.

“Today, I felt like the underdog and I love that feeling of feeling like the underdog. It makes me want it more. It's just been... It's great to have a nice big long break, but what the break has taught me is that stepping in between those ropes at 60 kilograms is proper dedication to really focus on your diet, to be so disciplined.

“I actually never realised how disciplined I was until I took that break and I had to start over again. And then you're back to the drawing board of doing what you've always done, but you didn't realise how hard it was because you were so used to doing it.

“I have a new appreciation of myself and of the hard work that I put in now.”

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In all, nine Olympians were competing on the night and all won.

Jude Gallagher of Two Castles is declared victorious over Adam Hession in their 60kg final bout at the 2026 National Elite Boxing Championships. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Among the fight of the nights was Jude Gallagher’s 3-2 decision against Adam Hession. These two were no strangers and were dead level after two rounds with the Tyrone man getting the nod from four of the five judges in the last.

Daina Moorehouse was another of the contingent from Paris 2024 to just about edge her bout. The Enniskerry flyweight was sheltering from a barrage even as the final bell sounded but did enough to overcome Immaculata of Belfast’s Caitlyn Fryers.

Michaela Walsh extended her record number of National Elites wins to 14 with a comfortable win over Sarah Cunningham, the 38-year old who only laced up the gloves for the first time seven years ago.

Irish National Elite finals results (Olympians in bold):

(48kg) Ide Cashell (Ballymun) W/O

(80kg) Keelyn Cassidy (Saviours Crystals) 0-5 Josh Olaniyan (Jobstown)

(54kg) Jennifer Lehane (DCU BC) 5-0 Robyn Kelly (Ballynacargy BC)

(75kg) Gavin Rafferty (Dublin Docklands) 1-4 Tadhg O’Donnell (Jobstown)

(60kg) Kellie Harrington (St Mary’s BC) 5-0 Kellie McLoughlin (St Catherines)

(65kg) D ean Clancy (Sean McDermott) 4-1 Jason Nevin (Olympic Mullingar)

(65kg) Aoife O’Rourke (Castlerea) 5-0 Shauna Kearney (Bunclody)

(50kg) Louis Rooney (Star) 4-1 Sean Mari (Monkstown)

(65kg) Grainne Walsh (St Mary’s D) 5-0 Linda Desmond (Rylane)

(95kg) Patsy Joyce (Olympic Mullingar) 5-0 Clepson dos Santos (Holy Trinity)

(51kg) Daina Moorehouse (Enniskerry) 3-2 Caitlyn Fryers (Immaculata BC)