Former Laois international boxer sentenced to ten months for deception
Portlaoise District Court heard that the former European Gold Medal and World bronze medal winning amateur middleweight boxing champion Michael O’Reilly is planning a comeback into the sport.
FORMER European gold medal and world bronze medal winning Portlaoise amateur middleweight boxing champion Michael O’Reilly is planning on making a comeback.
Mr O’Reilly had been set to compete for Ireland in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after his gold medal win in the 2015 AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Later that year, he won a bronze medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Those wins had cemented his reputation as a formidable force on the boxing stage and advanced his career in international boxing.
However, in August 2016 on the eve of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony, he was suspended from competing in the sport for four years after testing positive for a banned substance, which he later admitted was due to an unintentionally taken supplement. The ban also meant that he could not compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The announcement of his proposed return was made at Portlaoise District Court yesterday (Monday).
Mr O’Reilly (33), Main Road, Clonkeen, Portlaoise was in court, where he pleaded guilty to deception.
The court heard that he had taken a €3,500 deposit in exchange for promising two doctors to supply a landscaping service at their property at The Avenue, Mount Stewart, Portlaoise on dates between 24 and 25 July last year.
The case was conducted via video link from Wheatfield Prison, where Mr O’Reilly is currently serving a ten-month sentence and is due for release early next year.
Defending solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said that her client has been in prison since June.
She said that Mr O’Reilly had previously excelled in a boxing career and his previous offending was due to an alcohol problem, he is now very much committed to not reoffending.
Mr O’Reilly issued an apology to the court, adding: “I want to say sorry to who I affected by this (deception). I’m putting my hands up for it and intend to be a better man.” Ms Fitzpatrick said: “He’s hoping to return to his boxing career. He has a coach in England who has expressed great interest in him on his release from prison.’’ Before passing sentence, Judge Andrew Gubbuns wanted to know if the defendant had any prior convictions, to which Garda Sgt Kirby replied: “He has 101 previous convictions. Many of the previous ones were for road traffic offences. There were some for assaults and some for thefts.” Ms Fitzpatrick said that her client “is asking the court to do the best it can for him because he has a bright future in boxing. He’s hoping to return to his career as he is still a young man.” Judge Gubbins said that in July 2025, the two doctors put their trust in Mr O’Reilly to deliver the service he had offered, gave him a deposit of €3,500 but he betrayed their trust.
He went on to convict Mr O’Reilly of the offence and sentenced him to ten months’ in prison.
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