Tredagh Boxing Academy had a very busy weekend at the recent Armagh / Down Open Championships and also at the U 18 Ireland v Wales International Test Match.

The Armagh / Down Open Championships were held in Silverbridge Boxing Club in Armagh and the Ireland v Wales International took place in Derry City on the Saturday night.

Tredagh had four boxers in action in the Final of the Armagh / Down Open Boxing Championships and first in the ring was young Adam Walsh who boxed opposition from Ardee in the final.

From the opening bell Adam used his vast skills with fast combinations and beautiful angles to catch his opponent with hard hitting shots to give his opponent a standing count. He then piled on the pressure to force another count and the referee stopping the contest to crown Adam Armagh/ Down Open Champion 2025. This adds to Adams recent Louth Open Title. 

Next up was P.J. Mc Cullough who faced opposition from St Malachys Boxing Club, Newry in a ding dong battle in the quarter Final of the Louth Open. The bout started with the St Malachys man coming and both lads going 'toe to toe' and traded big shots.

PJ was relentless and caught his opponent with heavy hard hitting combinations to give his opponent a standing count. With his opponent unable to continue the referee stopped the contest to crown PJ - Armagh/Down Open Champion 2025. This adds to PJs recent Louth Open Title. 

Next up was Rua Clinton who had a repeat final against Keady from the Louth Open Final. The Keady man and Ulster Champion won the last outing on a unanimous decision. This was another three round classic encounter.

Rua produced a technical masterclass against his Southpaw opponent to counter punch and push at the right times while landing hard hitting combinations to catch the eye. The final result was a unanimous decision to Rua to reverse the decision to crown him Armagh/ Down Open Champion 2025 and show that Tredagh determination to come back stronger and better prepared. 

Next in the ring was Simon Mc Donagh who boxed opposition from St John Bosco Newry. Simon set his intentions from the opening bell to hold the centre of the ring while skillfully pushing his opponent back. Simon landed his trademark hard hitting backhand to tremendous effect to force his opponent to a standing count. Simon really upped the pace then to land fast hard hitting combinations to force the referee to stop the contest and crown Simon Armagh/Down Open Champion 2025. This added to Simons recent Louth Open Title. 

Then it was off to Derry City with Grace Conway to box for Ireland V Wales and Captain the Irish Team. What immense pride it was to witness and experience Grace led out the Irish Team on Saturday Evening in the Ireland V Wales Dual International Tournament. It was a full house steeped in history at the famous Guildhall in Derry City. Grace who was the Flag Bearer and Captain of the team carried out her duties very professionally.

It was a 14 strong squad against the Welsh with the last international between both countries ending in a 5 all draw.

Grace boxed the Welsh Champion Ellie Cain in a match up with two very different styles. The Welsh counterpart had clear intentions from the opening bell coming forward against the 8 times All Ireland Champion and double European Silver Medallist. But she was met with fast reactive angles and sharp counter punching skills from Grace. So much so the Welsh girl went on the defensive and Grace held the ring stalking her opponent and creating openings to press the fight.

The second round saw a change of tactics from the Welsh and almost witnessed the Welsh girl trying to 'rough' the Irish star up on the inside and spoil her technique. The referee was having none of it and Cain received a public warning for her efforts. It was then back to business for Grace as she changed the levels eloquently from head to body to head while on the front foot to catch her opponent with sizzling combinations as she retreated.

With 2 rounds in the bag Grace didn't take the foot off the pedal as she mixed her counter punching skills and angles up with fast attacking combinations to continue to catch her opponent with eye catching shots right up to the final bell. The result was a unanimous decision to the Tredagh and Ireland Captain in a job very professionally carried out against a strong tricky opponent.

What a proud moment and evening for Grace's parents Mick and Theresa, the Dunleer community and all the coaches and boxers at Tredagh Boxing Academy.

Ireland was on fire on the night and won the Dual by 10 bouts to 4 on the night. Well done to all the boxers and coaches on a very good team performance all round. The future is very bright for all these young budding stars of Ireland.

On the Sunday it was back to Silverbridge for the Armagh Downs Open Finals. Unfortunately Cara Evans opponent had to pull out due to illness.

Andrew Mathew's faced his old nemesis from Armagh who is an Ulster Champion and All Ireland finalist. This was a cracking contest as always and certainly a high calibre 3 round contest which excited the large crowd. The Tredagh corner felt Andrew had won the 1st and 3rd round, however, the decision went to his opponent on a split decision. No qualms over the decision as it was a cracking contest with 2 top class boxers. Well done to his opponent. From a Tredagh perspective it was great to have Andrew back in the ring as he's been inactive for some months now due to injury. Great preparation for the Leinster Championships for all these boxers.  

Well Done to All our boxers with top class performances and clear development and progression. The final medal tally from the Championships are as follows:

• Adam Wash - Gold Medal
• Iris Kinnihan - Gold Medal
• Chloe Sheelan - Gold Medal
• Rua Clinton - Gold Medal
• PJ Mc Cullough - Gold Medal
• Simon Mc Donagh - Gold Medal
• Ceejay Sheelan - Gold Medal
• Andrew Mathew's - Silver Medal
• Grace Conway Ireland v Wales - Gold Medal

Grace Conway will further her International endeavours next Friday evening 28^th March where she represent Ireland in an International against the French Champion. Great news all round as this International will take place in Holy Family boxing club in Drogheda.

Boxing starts at 7 pm sharp with Irelands up and rising stars on showcase in our locality. It would be great to get as many from the community to come and cheer Grace and her Ireland team mates on in an exciting evening of top class boxing.