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By Tim O'Carroll

It was the summer of 2007 in the ‘Windy City’ of Chicago, host to the World Amateur Boxing Championships. The High Performance Unit was in place a number of years, expectations were great and the Irish team was quietly confident of returning to Ireland with medals to display. Alas, it wasn’t to be, as the Irish team failed to win any medals.
 
Based on this disappointment, some even questioned the value of the High Performance Unit set up under the guidance of Gary Keegan in 2003. It allowed for Ireland’s most talented amateur boxers to train on a full-time basis at the home of the sport in Ireland, the National Boxing Stadium on Dublin’s South Circular Road.
 
The disappointment of Chicago 2007 transformed into elation at the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Irish light heavyweight and team captain Kenny Egan won a silver medal while light flyweight Paddy Barnes won a bronze medal and the late Darren Sutherland also won a bronze medal at middleweight.
 
Ireland’s other two boxing Olympians, light welterweight John Joe Joyce and bantamweight John Joe Nevin both lost out to eventual gold medallists in their respective weight categories.
There was rapturous support at Dublin airport as the country welcomed its Olympic heroes home and the High Performance Unit received nationwide praise.
 
“Without doubt, the High Performance Unit has helped Irish amateur boxing come along way. Head coaches Billy Walsh and Zuar Antia have done a great job,” says eight-time national senior welterweight champion and 74-time representative of Ireland, Neil Gough, who coaches at St. Paul’s Boxing Club, Waterford.
 
Neil wishes the unit had existed in his day, “Unfortunately it came along a little too late for me. I tried to qualify for the Olympics on three occasions, in 1992, 1996 and 2000 but just missed out.
 
In the run up to Sydney, I boxed full time for two years with grant support from the Irish Sports Council, but had to train myself, as there was no High Performance Unit in place. The proof is in the pudding; look at the success Irish boxing has achieved since it was set up.”
 
It’s hard to argue with the statistics. In 2008, Ireland won four gold medals and two silvers at the European Championships, a further three medals in Beijing, and up-and-coming Mayo lightweight Ray Moylette rounded off a spectacular year with a gold at the World Youth Amateur Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico.
 
For all the financial and economic troubles Ireland suffered in 2009, amateur boxing maintained it’s status with a nine medal haul at the European Championship including three gold, a new World Junior Champion in Moate’s Joe Ward and female dynamo Katie Taylor claiming her fourth European title in a row.
 
Following Gary Keegan’s resignation from the High Performance Unit post-Beijing, Billy Walsh assumed his position unofficially. The latest development in this story is that IABA President Dominic O’Rourke is the new High Performance Director, leaving Walsh’s position and future within the organisation uncertain. This decision has baffled some within the boxing fraternity as Walsh was credited with playing a vital role in the sport’s most recent successes.
 
Prior to this latest development, Walsh publicly voiced his belief that the High Performance model should be extended nationwide, and the importance of honing youth skills at the critical development period between twelve and fifteen years of age.
 
Ex-Irish Champion, Neil Gough, agrees completely with Walsh on this point.

“There is definitely a need for regional development officers in amateur boxing. Sports like rugby and soccer have them so why can’t we introduce it?

There is great work being done by local clubs and a huge amount of commitment is put in by coaches but if the most talented are given specialist training it will improve our chances in international tournaments.”
 
Neil is also in agreement with Walsh about honing youth’s talents at a young age. “I first boxed for Ireland when I was 17 but now kids are boxing in international tournaments at 13 or 14 years of age.
 
They have no fear and we are matching the heart that Irish boxers always had with skill.”
 
Irish amateur boxing has much to look forward to­­. The men’s National Senior Championship took place at the beginning of March, with the average age of All-Ireland senior finalists just 22.
 
Other positive notes to take from this year’s National Championship are that defeated lightweight finalist David Oliver Joyce is a two-time EU Champion, defeated middleweight finalist Jason Quigley is a reigning European Youth Champion and defeated light heavyweight finalist Tommy McCarthy is a World Youth Championship Bronze medallist.
 
The Irish team subsequently competed in an international match against a highly rated Italian team, with current world lightweight champion and AIBA World Boxer of the year, Domenico Valentino. He was defeated twice in the fixture by St. Michael’s Athy boxers, Eric Donovan and David Oliver Joyce. Italy later pulled out of the fixture, citing dissatisfaction with the judging as their reason for doing so.
 
In September, Katie Taylor will be bidding to retain her world title. Gough says “Katie is probably the most outstanding boxer this country has ever produced. She has the focus and the ability to go on and win the World Championship again.” Amateur boxing has all the elements of what makes sport great; honesty, desire, commitment and integrity from competitor through to coach, and Ireland is fortunate to have such talent in its ranks.
 
The pity is that it is like a piece of tumbleweed blowing through the set of a Western; it gets a moments attention and then vanishes.
 
Once every four years at the Olympics the nation tunes in if there are medal prospects, but it is then forgotten. For all the effort put into amateur boxing in Ireland, and given the success it has achieved, it deserves better and is something Ireland should be proud of.
 
tim.ocarroll@hotmail.com