Boxing:Katie Taylor and the European Senior Championship medal winning quintet of; Paddy Barnes, Darren O'Neill, Eric Donovan, Tyrone McCullagh and Ken Egan shared the top homour at last night's Irish Amateur Boxing (IABA) awards dinner in Dublin.
Collectively the six Irish boxers won the “Elite Achievement” award as the IABA celebrated another outstanding year in the ring.
Taylor, the current World, European, EU and Irish champion plus AIBA World female boxer of the year, and Barnes, the reigning European, Commonwealth and Irish champion and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, also shared the “Best Overall Boxer” award.
Current AIBA World Youth and Olympic Youth champions Joe Ward and Ryan Burnett had their remarkable achievements in 2010 recognised, while the Ryston BC in Kildare scooped the “Best Club” and “Best Coaches” awards in this the IABA’s centenary year.
European bronze medalist and Irish senior champion Eric Donovan picked up the “Elite boxer” award.
Meanwhile, Jim McCourt was inducted into the IABA Hall of Fame. McCourt, boxing out of the Immaculata BC in Belfast, won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1965 European Championships.
He also claimed Commonwealth gold in Jamaica in 1966 and seven Irish senior titles at three different weights in a stellar career spanning the 1960s and 1970s.
Sean Crowley was also inducted into the IABA Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding contribution as an administrator to Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport.
The Northern Ireland team were honoured following their unprecedented haul of three gold and two silver medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
Geesala prospect Katie Rowland, a silver medal winner at the European Youth Championships, was back on top of the podium along with nine other boxers in the Schoolboy/girl Youth International category.
Anna Moore and Al Morris got the decision in the “Best Referee and Judge” category.
IABA President Tommy Murphy said Ireland’s boxers were a credit to their country, adding that the achievements of 2010, one of which saw them finish second behind powerhouses Russia in the medals table at the European Championships, marked Ireland out as one of the top amateur boxing nations in the world.