Finn Valley man Michael Gallagher.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY
DONEGAL is celebrating yet more national boxing success.
Five boxers from Donegal clubs came home with national titles at the weekend and another two boxers, who fight outside of Donegal, are back in their homes in this county with titles too after another successful finals day at the National Stadium on Saturday.
The pick of the bunch was undoubtedly Michael Gallagher, the Finn Valley ABC star, who won the Youth 2 80kgs in some style.
Gallagher’s eighth Irish title was bagged in double-quick time. The 2012 Youth 1 80kgs champion wasted no time in his blitz of James Hughes. The Ryston, Co.Kildare boxer came to these championships with high hopes of adding to an impressive haul of honours that included a double success here last year.
But in Gallagher, who hails from Kinletter in Ballybofey, he met a man whose rise has been rapid. With the first punch thrown by the Finn Valley star, Hughes had met his knockout.
In one fell swoop Gallagher had ended Hughes’ reign and collected title number eight, with Hughes almost walking into the Donegal man’s lethal right hand.
Buncrana man Stephen Bonner took home the heavyweight title at Boy4 grade following a second round stoppage of Dylan Maughan from Ballyhaunis, while Liam Callaghan from Carndonagh was victorious at Youth 1 46kgs. Having beaten Holy Family’s Vasyl Chechenskey 9-6 in his semi-final, he scored a 16-9 final win over Willie O’Donoghue of the St Michael’s Athy club.
Thomas Mongan brings the Youth 2 50kgs title back to Illies after a 11-7 win over Knockmore’s Michael Maughan and the Youth 2 63kgs gong is in Dungloe following Mark McCole’s 14-6 blitz of Nathan Watson (Saints).
Letterkenny’s powerful Michael McConigley was just a point in arrears against Martin Collins (Trinity Boys) in the Youth 2 86kgs final, but it was Collins who held sway for a 9-6 points win.
Two other Donegal lads are toasting success. St Johnston man Brett McGinty is fast building an impressive portfolio for himself. The 14-year old landed his fifth Irish title on Saturday as he swatted aside Ennis lad Michael McDonagh in the Boy 4 63kgs final.
McGinty bagged a silver medal at the 2012 European Schoolboy Championships in Russia and his reputation as one to watch was further enhanced here when he won very impressively, with McDonagh rarely troubling the Oakleaf fighter, who won 16-5.
His Oakleaf team-mate, Ryan Greene, from Bridgend, is also back with a win after he defeated Tiernan Burns (Holy Family GG) 14-5 in the Youth 1 52kgs class.
Elsewhere, Twin Towns’ Conor Bianconi (Youth 1 50kgs), Buncrana’s Patrick Sweeney (Youth 1 75kgs) and Dylan Moran from Illies GG (Youth 2, 48kgs) lost in their respective semi finals.
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