Tredagh Boxing Academy entered two boxers into the recent All Ireland Junior Cadet Championships which is a qualifying tournament to select the Junior Team to represent Ireland in the upcoming European School Boy Championships.

In the first round Andrew Mathews (Tredagh) boxed his old nemesis Malachy Nugent (Armagh Boxing Club). These two boys have met three times over the past couple of years with Nugent beating Andrew on all three occasions.

Andrew had different ideas around this encounter however and boxed his best contest to date winning all three rounds and receiving a unanimous decision on all five of the judges to progress to the next round of the championships. Such outcomes are testimony to the Tredagh ethos of development and consistency.

In the next round Andrew faced the champion Jack St Ledger from St Michael’s Boxing Club in New Ross. Again this was a mammoth challenge for Andrew but he faced a strong technical St. Ledger who is a year older than him and appeared to win the first two rounds convincingly, while the last round was very close and could have gone either way.

The final verdict was a 3-2 split decision to St Ledger. The bout was then reviewed and questioned by the Tredagh corner. It emerged that Andrew had won the first round 3-2 on the judge’s cards. Won the second round 3-2 on the judge’s cards and lost the last round 4-1 on the judge’s cards.

The computer then scored the bout by a single point to Andrew’s opponent. Although there was great disappointment in the Tredagh camp his clubmates remain so proud of Andrew’s performances. This was great experience who, because he is that year younger, can box again next year in the same championships.

Michael James (M.J.) Mc Donagh (Tredagh) boxed Edmond Commins from Kilkenny in the final of the National Cadet championships. Commins from Callan Boxing Club is a tall stand up aggressive boxer. From the opening bell Commins came forward and Michael James counterpunched him to great effect.

This was the theme of the round until mid-way when M.J. caught his opponent with a menacing backhand cross counter punch. He then became the aggressor and followed up with a barrage of punches which forced the referee to give his opponent a standing count. M.J. continued to put the pressure on his opponent in search of a stoppage until the bell sounded at the end of the first round.

The second and third round witnessed a calm, efficient and skilled M.J. as he continued to land his counter punching skills and dominate each round taking his opponents hard hitting aggressive style away from him. The final verdict was a unanimous points decision in favor of M.J. to crown him National Cadet All Ireland Champion for 2024.

M.J. started to train with the Ireland High Performance on 29^th June. He will know in a number of weeks if he will be picked to represent Ireland in the upcoming European School Boy Championships. He hopes to follow in the steps of fellow club mates Grace Conway and Callum Carrager who have both represented Tredagh and Ireland at the European Championships. This is M.J.s fourth All Ireland Title I a row and the clubs fourth of the year with also 2 silver All Ireland finalists.

The following day from the All Ireland final the club hosted its biggest every sparring camp tournament in An Grianan Termonfectin. There was 3 rings in operation and over 24 boxing clubs from Louth, The North of Ireland (including the Armagh / Down Development Squad, Dublin, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Donegal etc. On the day over 250 boxers attended the tournament along with their coaches and families. It was a fest of boxing in which all received a medal and entry was free of charge.

Tournaments like this are made possible by the generous donations from local councilors such as Joanna Byrne, Tom Cunningham, Pio Smith, Paddy Mc Quillan, James Byrne, Bernie Conlon.

Tredagh Boxing Academy offer classes for Junior Boxers from 7 years old to 11 years old, Championship age boxers from 11 years right up to Elite level for both males and females. Also Boxercise Classes for males and females to the public. Contact Padraig on 087 9944 799.