There was a cascade of gold and silver for Tredagh Boxing Club in the recent Louth Open Boxing Championships held in Holy Family Drogheda over two weekends featuring boxers from all over Leinster and Northern Ireland. 

Day one of the championships saw four Tredagh boxers in action with Jamie Campbell first in the ring against a strong lad from Castleblayney in a high tempo bout with both lads going at it from the bell. It could have gone either way, but it was the Castleblaney man who got the nod. 

Next up was Kailin Morris against a boxer from Ardee and this time it was the Tredagh man who got the nod in a split decision to book his place in the final. 

Young Adam Walsh faced opposition from Culleville who he stopped in the first round with a technical masterclass. PJ Mc Cullough’s opposition was from St Malachys Newry with whom he went ‘toe to toe’ with for three rounds which not only got the large crowd going but earned him a unanimous decision to book his place in the semi-final. 

First into the ring on day two was Ceejay Sheelan against a boxer from St Malachys Newry. Ceejay controlled the bout from start to finish to win by unanimous decision and book his place in the final. 

Alex Boylan had a very close first round in his bout against opposition from Silverbridge but a change of tactics in the second saw him land his hard hitting backhand to stop his opponent. 

Young James Hackett, who only started boxing in September, gave a great account of himself but was beaten by an opponent from Bracken, Dublin on the dreaded split decision. 

Cian Smyth produced a very impressive performance against an opponent from Gilford Boxing Club (North of Ireland) when a standing count in the second round stopped the fight. Last up was Rua Clinton who boxed a fantastic technical bout to win all three rounds against his opponent from Sacred Heart Newry. 

Tredagh had two boxers in action on day three starting with PJ Mc Cullough who faced a tough opponent from Carrickmore Boxing Club. The North of Ireland boxer had stopped his opponent in the first round in his Q final and the stage was set for a classic encounter.

PJ took control of the first round and got the better of the exchanges to shade the round. There was more of the same in round two at the end of which PJ pinned his opponent in the corner and caught him with a barrage of hard hitting shots with the referee giving his opponent a standing count. With the Carrickmore boxer not able to continue PJ was declared the winner by second round stoppage and booked his place in the final. 

Following on from his impressive win in the semi-final, Ceejay Sheelan faced the Ulster Champion from Kilkeel. Ceejay Controlled the ring in round one and appeared to land the faster and cleaner shots in the round. Ceejay upped the pace in round two but the third proved to be his best as he used his counter punching skills to outbox the Ulster Champion to be crowned Louth Open Champion and bring the first title back to Tredagh. 

The final three days saw a number of Tredagh boxers hoping to join their tile winning club mates. On the Friday evening two of the club’s boxers reached the semi-finals.

Facing stiff opposition from Sacred Heart Newry, Kailin Morris, who only started boxing recently, lost out to a much more experienced opponent. However, he gained great experience at these championships and is definitely one for the future.

John Collins boxed very well over three rounds against opposition from Drogheda Boxing Club and won the bout on a 2/1 split decision.

Saturday saw seven Tredagh boxers in action, six of them in finals and one in a semi-final. Adam Walsh met strong opposition from Elite (Mullingar), who came out with all guns blazing from the opening bell and kept the pressure on for all three rounds. Adam used his advanced counter punching skills to great effect however and the judges gave him a unanimous decision to crown him Louth Open Champion 2024. 

Tredagh’s Rua Clinton boxed another Ulster Champion in a top class contest over three rounds. The Tredagh corner felt Rua had done more than enough to take all three rounds and were shocked, along with most of the crowd, to hear the decision going the other way. 

In the next bout P.J. Mc Cullough. P.J. following on from his two wins the weekend before, faced the Connaught Open and Donegal Open Champion - opposition from Omagh (Tyrone). This was another all-out war with both lads going 'toe to toe' for the three rounds. In the end it was P.J. who was declared the winner on a unanimous decision to crown him Louth Open Champion 2024. 

Next up we had Simon Mc Donagh who boxed opposition from Carrickmore (Tyrone). Simon boxed very well throughout the 3 rounds and showcased his skills to win by unanimous decision and be crowned Louth Open Champion 2024. 

John Collins boxed very well over three rounds against a boxer from Craigavon but was edged out by the slightly better boxer on the day. John can be very proud of his silver medal after two great fights in the championships and great experience gained. 

Next up for Tredagh was Emma O Gorman who faced a very strong tall girl from Castleblaney Boxing Club. This was another exciting contest with Emma's counter punching skills the difference as she got the nod by majority decision to crown her Louth Open Champion 2024.

Last up for Tredagh was Charlie Flanagan who booked his place in the final with a well-controlled fight against a strong lad from Ballbriggan which earned him a unanimous decision. 

Day six of the competition saw three Tredagh boxers competing in their respective finals. Charlie Flannagan lost out to a very strong experienced lad from Rush in what was a very competitive bout. with Charlie winning the second round and just edged out in round 1 and 3. Charlie should also be very proud of his silver medal after two great bouts and more invaluable experience gained. 

In his final, Cian Smyth faced very strong opposition from Balbriggan but showcased his vast skill set to catch the eye of the judges and the crowd to win by unanimous decision and crown him Louth Open Champion 2024. 

Last up was Alex Boylan against a lad from Ashbourne in another crowd pleaser of a final with both lads going at it from the opening bell and landing big heaving shots. Alex dug down on the gumshield to win by split decision in a fantastic bout.

At the end of the two weekends of boxing the final medal tally for Tredagh was as follows: 

• Adam Walsh - Gold 
• Chloe Sheelan - Gold 
• Iris Kinnihan - Gold
• Cara Evans - Gold
• Rua Clinton - Silver
• P.J. Mc Cullough - Gold
• Simon Mc Donagh - Gold
• Casey Donagh - Gold
• Ceejay Sheelan - Gold
• Andrew Mathews - Gold
• John Collins - Silver
• Michael James Mc Donagh - Gold
• Charlie Flannagan - Silver
• Emma O Gorman - Gold
• Cian Smyth - Gold
• Alex Boylan - Gold