OLYMPIC BOXING:"Vladi-vos-what? Could you spell that please?" "V L A D. I. V O S. T O K. Vladivostok. You know that translates as 'conquering the east'?" Well, that was a good sign. Five Irish boxers had just landed in Beijing, coming in under the radar, their bond as close and inseparable as the five Olympic rings, and the Russian training camp where they'd just come from means conquering the east. That was a good sign, writes Ian O'Riordan

Gary Keegan was telling us this in the lobby of the Hotel Tibet. Keegan had to bluff his way past the security cordon because he - the Irish boxing high performance manager - didn't have full accreditation. Keegan didn't even begin to complain because that was pointless now. Besides, he was feeling confident. Vladivostok was rough; the conditions grim and the sparring with the Russians fairly savage. Perfect preparations.

"I think it's a little unfair to be throwing up talk of medals," he said. "But we've worked exceptionally hard as a programme. If they can bring the preparation to the ring they have a chance. And look, they are going to be a tough draw for anyone."

So next day, just before the world turned its eyes onto the Bird's Nest for the Opening Ceremony of 29th Olympiad, Keegan and Irish team coach Billy Walsh went down to Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium for the boxing draws.More than any other Olympic sport, boxing can truly depend on the luck of the draw, and the Irish were lucky. Light flyweight Paddy Barnes and middleweight Darren Sutherland got byes into the second round. Two wins away from guaranteed bronze medals.

Light welterweight John Joe Joyce and bantamweight John Joe Nevin got decent draws, while team captain Kenny Egan would, fittingly, be first into the ring for his light heavyweight bout against Julius Jackson of the Virgin Islands.

"It's all about the win, the 'W' after your name," said Egan after he eased past Jackson, 22-2. "It was also my job, as team captain, to set the example. To lead the team into battle. The first one onto the field, the last one off it."

Boxing, more than other Olympic sports, is about the qualifying journey as much as the end journey. Five Irish boxers making it to Beijing was a sweet story in itself. But it hadn't happened by accident, and from the mood, tone and the body language of Egan's opening bout it was clear the best part of the story was only beginning.

"Drawing him again, I knew God was testing me," declared Joyce after taking apart Gyula Kate of Hungary, 9-5, in his opening bout - reversing three previous defeats.

"I am out here to perform, and if you do that, the medals with take care of themselves," said Nevin after out-smarting Abdelhalim Ourradi of Algeria, 9-4, to win his opener.

"The stakes are getting higher all the time," explained Walsh after the first three boxers progressed. The Irish coach, a veteran of the Seoul Olympics and for the past five years the brain behind Irish amateur boxing, had the uncanny knack of looking nervous and undaunted at the same time. Most of all, Walsh was a realist. You get one shot at the Olympics. Excuses are for losers.

"He is sick to his teeth, and he should be sick to his teeth," was how Walsh responded to Joyce's tearful defeat later in the week. "It should feel like the end of the world because it's not pretty to lose and you shouldn't be happy to lose."

If we needed any further proof that the boxers meant business we had it. Rarely has a coach been less consoling when one his athletes had gone down, but this was the spirit Walsh had fostered and there would be no softening now.

Still, with four boxers two wins away from bronze medals attitude was everything. Egan continued to set the example, winning his last-16 bout against Turkey's Muzaffer Bahram, 10-2, and the 26-year-old Dubliner was also a model of confidence: "It's like a jigsaw," he said. "The biggest piece is the head. Upstairs. If you're right in the head, you're laughing."

Next day, Nevin was beaten by Mongolian Badar-Uugan Enkhbat. This briefly threatened to derail the Irish boxing dream. Then, having waited eight days for their opening bout, Sutherland and Barnes put the dream back on track with explosive victories - moving them to within one win from a bronze medal.

And so, fittingly, it was Barnes, the first Irish boxer to qualify for Beijing, who first guaranteed a medal, beating Poland's Lukasck Maszczyk 11-5. Then Egan beat Washington Silva of Brazil 8-0. Sutherland hammered Alfonso Blanco Parra of Venezuela, 11-1.

So went the one thoroughly and deservedly Irish success story of Beijing. Was it any less of a success because Barnes and Sutherland lost their semi-finals? Barnes was always going to need something of a miracle to beat China's world champion Zou Shiming, who dutifully outclassed him 15-0. And Sutherland was caught tactically off-guard by Britain's James DeGale, who beat him 10-3.

"You are beaten by one or you are beaten by 20," said Walsh. "You are still beaten."

Walsh wasn't happy with the defeats. Barnes wasn't happy with the judging. Sutherland was happy with his medal. "Beyond my wildest dreams," he said.

Egan then, as he promised, would be first onto the field, last one off it. When he beat Britain's Tony Jeffries 10-3 there were immediate thoughts of gold, which slackened, however, when it was realised his final opponent would be Zhang Xiaoping - of China. Because there is nothing worse than a partisan crowd to influence partisan judging, or at least it seemed that way when Egan eventually went down, cruelly, narrowly, probably unfairly, 11-7.

"I know an Olympic silver medal is brilliant," he said. "But I thought I had the beatings of the guy. I'm disgusted, but that's sport. But I'm proud of the way I performed. Proud to be Irish."

In the end, the way all five Irish boxers and management performed, Beijing too ultimately translated as conquering the east.