Irish amateur boxing was given a huge boost yesterday when the Minister for Sport, Dr Jim McDaid, announced a grant of £1.3 million for the association.

The grant will enable the IABA to refurbish the National Stadium.

It is now 60 years since the National Stadium was built and the Minister referred to it as one of the most loved and significant parts of sporting life in the country.

He was welcomed by the president of the IABA, Breandan O Conaire, who praised the National Lottery for honouring its commitment to support sporting bodies.

Dr McDaid pointed out that this project was among 1,900 applications received by his Department under the Sports Programme for 1999. "In order to assist with the assessment and evaluation of these applications, my Department consulted with the IABA to determine the merits of the project which they had in mind. The National Stadium was selected in accordance with the assessment criterion being used by my Department and also took into account the views of the boxing association itself," he said.

The Minister praised the amount of work that was being done on a voluntary basis by the IABA and many other amateur sporting associations. "The development of a quality infrastructure is crucial to the sport in Ireland. In this context, the Sports Capital Programme in my Department is very important and will remain so."

O Conaire said the National Stadium had seen some wonderful performances by Irish boxers, including Jimmy Ingle and Paddy Dowdall, who won European titles in 1939 and had also seen brilliant performances by the Olympic gold medal winner, Michael Carruth, and world professional champions such as Barry McGuigan, Wayne McCullough and Steve Collins.

"We are deeply grateful to the Minister and to the people who contribute to the National Lottery for giving us this opportunity and we intend to build upon it and to continue to provide Irish sporting enthusiasts with reasons to celebrate," he said.