With the visit home of World champion Deirdre Gogarty, it’s been a big week for Drogheda’s boxing fans and boxers from Tredagh are following her example with five boxers qualifying for the All-Ireland Championships in the National Stadium and three of them returning with gold medals. 

Following a fantastic Leinster campaign where he won three bouts to be crowned Leinster Champion, Andrew Mathews was drawn against the Dublin Champion in the quarter final which was a ‘toe to toe’ battle for the three rounds.

 Despite Andrew putting fierce pressure on the Cherry Orchard man, it was the Dublin man who got the nod in a very close decision. This was great experience for Andrew in his first year of competitive boxing and will stand to him on his boxing journey in the future.

Next up was last years All Ireland Champion Keith Muma who has had an injury stricken season and missed his Leinster campaign but was eager to defend his crown.

In the quarter final Keith gave the Ulster Champion a master class performance against the bigger man to take all three rounds to win by unanimous decision.

In the semifinal Keith faced the reigning All Ireland Champion in a bout of strength v technique in a thrilling three rounds with the Belfast man winning by in a split decision in a bout that could have went either way.

Following on from a fantastic win in his Leinster campaign, Michael James Mc Donagh went on to secure his second All Ireland Title and finished the weekend off with a gold medal for the boys.  

Next up was Breanna Johnston in her semifinal of the Youth 2 All Ireland Championships boxed last year's All Ireland Cadet Champion and Irelands European Representative in an action packed three rounds. 

In a technical master class against the taller, bigger girl Breanna used her counter punching skills to take away the Bray girl’s reach and power advantage and took the win with a unanimous decision from the judges to book her place in the All Ireland finals.

Grace Conway was first in the ring on finals day facing an experienced opponent from Clonard Boxing Club who was also a former All Ireland Champion.

The first round started as a cagy affair with both girls sussing each other out and finding their range. Gracie appeared to have edged the round and landed a heavy shot on the bell.

Round two saw a change of tactics from Gracie as she became the aggressor and landed heavy combinations as the referee gave her opponent a standing 8 count. Gracie’s exquisite footwork and long range shots were landing to great effect.

The third was more of the same as Gracie upped the pace once again and used her razor sharp combinations and hard hitting back hand to great effect to earn a unanimous points decision to crown Gracie "Paceie" Conway All Ireland Age Group Champion for the second year in a row.

She also lifted the Cadet All Ireland Title to add to her many other Championships and Titles including European Junior Silver Medallist. Well Done Gracie.

Next up for Tredagh was young Breanna Johnston who faced strong opposition from the Munster Champion who looked very strong and impressive in the qualifying rounds.

The Cobh boxer came out with all guns blazing but was met with slick counter punching skills from Breanna who edged the round and landed her hard hitting back hand to great effect.

The second and third rounds created a masterclass performance from Breanna as she threw and landed almost every punch in the book while using exquisite angles and step rolls to keep her strong opponent at bay. The final verdict was a unanimous points win for Breanna "The Piranha" Johnston to crown her All Ireland Youth 2 Girls Champion for the second year in a row.

Unfortunately last year’s All Ireland Cadet Champion and Ireland’s representative in the Junior European Championships, Tredagh’s Callum Carragher, was unable to compete in the Championships this season due to injury but will be back stronger than ever in the coming weeks and months.