BOXING
Boxing has featured at all modern Olympic Games since St Louis 1904 and is Team Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport with 16 medallists.
Michael Carruth won Gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and exactly 20 years to the week later, Katie Taylor won Gold at the London 2012 Olympics. She was the first Irish woman to qualify and compete in an Olympic boxing event.
At Paris 2024, there will be 6 women and 4 men competing in their respective weight classes,
Fly (50kg)
Bantamweight (54kg)
Featherweight (57kg)
Light (60kg)
Welter (66kg)
Middle (75kg)
With men having a total of 8 events
Fly (48kg – 52kg)
Feather (52kg to 57kg)
Light (57kg to 63kg)
Welter (63kg to 69kg)
Middle (69kg to 75kg)
Light Heavy (75kg to 81kg)
Heavy (81kg to 91kg)
Super Heavy (91kg to +91kg)
At the Olympic Games boxers shall be seeded by a Seeding Commission, based on Boxers’ World Rankings and past performance.
An Olympic Boxing match for both men and women lasts three rounds, each of three minutes.The winners of the semi-finals in each weight category will contest for the gold medal, the losers of each semi-final will be awarded bronze medals.
Five judges sit at the side of the ring. They watch the bout and individually award points for what they deem quality blows on target, but also technique, tactics, competiveness and dominance. Fights can end by way of knockout or technical knockout as well. Referees may end a bout if they deem an opponent unfit to continue.
An Olympic Boxing match for both men and women lasts three rounds, each of three minutes. Five judges sit at the side of the ring. They watch the bout and individually award points for what they deem to be a successful hit.
The National Governing body for Boxing in Ireland is the IABA – Irish Athletic Boxing Association where you can find more information
| Name | Weight | Year | Olympics | Medal |
| John McNally | Bantamweight | 1952 | Helsinki | Silver |
| Fred Tiedt | Welterweight | 1956 | Melbourne | Silver |
| Tony Byrne | Lightweight | 1956 | Melbourne | Bronze |
| Fred Gilroy | Bantamweight | 1956 | Melbourne | Bronze |
| John Caldwell | Flyweight | 1956 | Melbourne | Bronze |
| Jim McCourt | Lightweight | 1964 | Tokyo | Bronze |
| Hugh Russell | Flyweight | 1980 | Moscow | Bronze |
| Michael Carruth | Welterweight | 1992 | Barcelona | Gold |
| Wayne McCullough | Bantamweight | 1992 | Barcelona | Silver |
| Kenneth Egan | Light heavyweight | 2008 | Beijing | Silver. |
| Darren Sutherland | Middleweight | 2008 | Beijing | Bronze. |
| Paddy Barnes | Light flyweight | 2008 | Beijing | Bronze. |
| John Joe Nevin | Bantamweight | 2012 | London | Silver |
| Katie Taylor | Lightweight | 2012 | London | Gold |
| Michael Conlan | Flyweight | 2012 | London | Bronze |
| Paddy Barnes | Light flyweight | 2012 | London | Bronze |
| Kellie Harrington | Lightweight | 2020 | Tokyo | Gold |
| Aidan Walsh | Welterweight | 2020 | Tokyo | Bronze |
National Federation: Irish Athletic Boxing Association
BOXING NEWS
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The Road to Paris 2024 is reaching its terminus. Qualification opportunities are at a premium and boxing is no exception. With 51 quotas at stake, including 23 for women and 28 for men, the 2nd World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok from 24 May to 2 June will offer boxers a final chance to secure a quota for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Quota places will [...]
Team Announcement: 2nd Olympic Boxing World Qualifier, Bangkok, Thailand
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SELECTED ATHLETES
Aidan Walsh
Aidan WalshBOXING BIOGRAPHY Aidan won light welterweight gold at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games and silver (at welterweight) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He had won one bout before the Olympic Qualifier in March 2020 was cancelled but came back and won a bronze medal at the last qualifying tournament in June 2021. He lost [...]
Emmet Brennan
Emmet BrennanBOXING BIOGRAPHY Emmet is a two-time Irish champion (once at 75kg, once at 81kg) who gave up boxing at one point, then quit his job and took out a Credit Union loan to pursue his Olympic dream. In March 2019 he needed a top six finish at the Olympic Qualifiers in London to qualify [...]
Kellie Harrington
Kellie HarringtonBOXING BIOGRAPHY Kellie won a silver medal in the light welterweight at the 2016 World Championship and then really blossomed by moving down to 60kg. She became world champion in New Delhi in 2018 and also won a bronze at European Championships that year. In 2019 she won silver at the European Games in [...]
Aoife O’Rourke
Aoife O’RourkeBOXING BIOGRAPHY Aoife’s first sport was gaelic football (her late grandfather Dan was GAA president) but she took to boxing immediately, winning the first of her six Irish senior titles in 2017. In 2018 she won silver at the European U22s and made her debut at World Seniors. In 2019 she won gold at [...]
Kurt Walker
Kurt WalkerBOXING BIOGRAPHY Kurt was a World and European Youth medallist in 2012 and 2013 respectively and won bronze at the 2017 European Championships. In 2018 he took silver at Commonwealth Games and gold at the EU Championships. In 2019 he won gold at the European Games, all at bantamweight (56kg). He had an exceptionally [...]
Brendan Irvine
Brendan IrvineBOXING BIOGRAPHY Brendan, who is captain of the boxing team, is competing in his second Olympics and was just 20 when he competed in Rio 2016 where he was beaten in the last 16 by Ukbekistan’s Shakhobiddin Zoirov. He won 49kg silver at the 2015 European Games in Baku. In 2017 he won a [...]
Michaela Walsh
Michaela WalshBOXING BIOGRAPHY Michaela won flyweight silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she was beaten in the final by the reigning Olympic champion Nicola Adams. In 2018, fighting at featherweight, she won bronze at the European Championships and a second Commonwealth silver. In 2019 she won seven of nine international fights and silver at [...]
