BY RYAN FERRY
SHAUN Doohan is one of the brightest young boxing talents in Donegal and he was thrilled to land his first All-Ireland title back in April.
The Ardsbeg, Gortahork teenager has devoted himself to his chosen sport in recent years.
He fights out of the Dunfanaghy Boxing Club and has represented them with distinction.
All the effort and commitment has helped him make real progress and this year he was crowned as the Boy 4 70kg National champion.
Doohan collected his Donegal News Sports Star of the Month for April, in conjunction with Brian McCormick Sports & Leisure, and spoke of where his passion from the sport came from.
“I started boxing when I was nine. That’s six years ago now.
“My brother, Anthony, was at it so I started then.
“He won an All-Ireland when he was 13 I think so he was quite good at it.
“I loved it straight away and got really into it.
“There’s a lot of training with it but that’s not a problem.
“You have three days out in Dunfanaghy, and then you have running and all that craic to be done as well.
“I have been doing that for a few years now. I was probably ten or eleven when I started training properly.
“I would have been all over in Ulster fighting and up in Dublin a few times as well.
“I was over in Scotland last year too which was very good.”
Doohan is a fifth year student at PCC Falcarragh and says his school are proud of his achievements in the boxing ring.
He had some near-misses in the past so was pleased to finally get the national crown he craved.
“I had been close enough before. Nearly every year I was down in Dublin.
“I lost my first ever Ulster Final but after that I have won four Ulster titles.
“I think I have had seven fights up in the National Stadium and I have won four of them and lost three.
“I lost two semi-finals and one quarter-final up in Dublin and that was hard at the time.
“I always knew I wasn’t that far away, and I suppose that meant I kept trying hard in training.
“There wasn’t anything really different this year. I was just a bit older and heavier.”
Doohan worked hard behind the scenes to make sure he was in good shape, but there were events outside of his control that could have derailed him.
He was due to fight his quarter-final in Castlerea when a gang of men burst into the hall, some carrying machetes and bill hooks, and an individual was left seriously injured.
The harrowing scenes garnered national attention and could have been very off putting for a young boxer.
However, Doohan didn’t lose his focus and when he went to Dublin a few weeks later, he saw off John Ward (Monieva) in the semi-final.
The final also went to plan as he took out Adrian Kepes from St Pappin’s BC in good style.
“I won the final 4-1 on a split decision.
“To be honest, I thought I won it comfortably.
“I hadn’t faced him before but I didn’t worry too much about that.
“I just kept to what I usually do and it worked out alright. I like to box from the centre of the ring, and not going back too much.
“I was very happy with how it went.”
Doohan was thrilled to have his hand raised in the ring, and the local community came out to the Strand Road Bar and Kitchen in Falcarragh where a special reception was organised by Canon Michael Herrity in his honour.
“I was delighted with it.
“I went straight back the road after it.
“There was a homecoming in the Strand Bar then which was organised by Fr Michael which was very nice.”
Doohan was quick to give praise to his coaches at Dunfanaghy Boxing Club who helped him land the coveted title.
“Eddie (Harkin), Joe (Harkin) and Gary McBride do most of the coaching.
“They are very good and they put in loads of effort.
“Obviously you listen to everything they say and try and take it on board.”
Doohan took some time away from the ring after his success but he’s back in full training once again and hungry for more.
“I took a wee bit of a break after that and I’m back into it now.
“I kept running away and did a bit of strength work but I took a break from all the sparring.
“But I’m back at it now and in a few months, I’ll be taking part in the 9 Counties and I will try to win it.
“And I’ll be hoping to go back up to Dublin next March or April and hopefully pick up another national title if I can.”
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