Kehoe to the fore for Team Ireland’s World Championship success

A Kilkenny boxing coach played a key role as Team Ireland made history at the World Youth Championships.

Garry Kehoe, a coach at the Marble City Boxing Club, was one of three coaches – he was joined by Belfast counterparts Ralph McKay and Liam Cunningham – who helped Team Ireland shine in Montenegro as they brought home three world champions and a remarkable fourth place finish in the overall medals standings.

Adam Olaniyan, Siofra Lawless and Kyla Doyle each won gold and stood on top spot of the podium. Together with Jamie Graham’s impressive fifth-place finish, they helped secure a $25,000 prize for the team.

Olaniyan, the reigning European youth champion, had to overcome some tough competition in Mexico, Hungary, Iran and Uzbekistan opponents to stand on top of the podium. The talented super heavy weight did this with ease – he looks to be the real deal, a potential future Olympic star in the making.

Siofra Lawless carved her name into the history books by claiming her second world title in Budva, beating boxers from Morocco, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and North Korea in the final en route to a remarkable second world gold medal. Only one woman has done this before – fellow Wicklow woman Katie Taylor – so the future sure looks bright.

Kyla Byrne Doyle was a wrecking machine at these championships, demolishing all that stood in front of her. Fighters from Mexico, Uzbekistan, China and Kazakhstan were no match for the 66kg Dublin woman who demonstrated strength, determination and skill on her way to gold.

This team demonstrated their skill levels with wins over global powerhouses like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and China. It also highlighted the dedicated preparation and skill of their coaches. Kehoe hails from Marble City Boxing Club, which is based here in the heart of the city. Together with McKay (St Paul’s Boxing Club) and Cunningham (Saints Boxing Club) the coaching team put a tremendous 12 week effort into getting this team ready, holding intense training sessions the high performance units in Abbottstown and the National Stadium to ensure the team were in the best shape for championships.

The team’s medal standing position was made even more impressive considering the size of the team. Team Ireland brought an eight-strong squad – in comparison to the three countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia – who finished above them all had full squads of 25 boxers. The Irish showed immense resilience in each fight, going toe to toe with the giants of world boxing. They beat Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on three occasions, something unmatched by any other country at the competition.

The dedication of the coaching team was fundamental to these results, proving that Ireland’s boxing future is in capable hands. With coaches like Kehoe, McKay and Cunningham, guiding the way, Irish youth boxing looks set to continue making history on the international stage.