Two gold and two silver for Portlaoise Boxing Club in National U/15 and U/17 Championships

PORTLAOISE Boxing Club saw four of their competitors reach Sunday’s National Under 15 and Under 17 Championship Finals, with Rosaletta Casey and Thomas O’Reilly competing the march to their respective titles and, with it, inclusion in the Ireland squad that will contest the European Championships later in the year.

Vanessa Doyle and Paul Casey turned in excellent performances in their respective deciders, but it was still not enough to see them secure gold.

After having navigated his way past a colossal test from Avona’s Tadgh Brennan in the semi-finals of the National Under 17 75kg, edging the win on a 3-2 split decision, O’Reilly faced off against another tough customer in Daniel Lambagiu of St. Michael’s Athy in the decider, earning a good victory.

That win marked a sixth national title for the Portlaoise powerhouse, who can now look forward to a return to the European Championship stage where he will be looking for a repeat of his exploits in 2025 when he landed gold at Under 15 degree.

“Thomas won his final very well. He was just better today,” remarked Portlaoise Boxing Club head coach, Pat Ryan.

“He controlled the fight and dictated it. He did all the right things. He attacked with surprise, getting off three or four punches, and his escape mechanism then was very good.

“He had won his semi-final on a 3-2 decision. That was a tough fight. His opponent was huge and he was a southpaw and that brings its own difficulties, but he came through it and he was a worthy winner.

“He was in tremendous shape and he's going to the European Championships now,” he told the *****Laois Nationalist*****.

O’Reilly’s clubmate, Rosaletta Casey, herself, secured gold and a return to European Championship competition after she stopped Emma Crowley of St. Martha’s in the third round of their Under 15 46kg decider on Sunday.

“Rosaletta was a superb,” said Ryan. “She’s after improving immensely and she just had a little bit too much for her opponent.

“She was controlling everything, but the boxer she was facing was a courageous girl and kept punching back, kept answering and answering.

“But Rosaletta just bombarded her with headshots in that third round and the referee had no choice, but to step in and stop the contest,” he said.

The victory marked Casey’s second successive stoppage in these championships, the Portlaoise competitor having brought her semi-final against Loughglynn’s Shantelle McCrudden on Saturday to an early close in the second round.

Her following victory over Crowley completed her quest for a fifth national title and sees her back on the European stage hoping to build on her bronze medal win last season in Montenegro.

Vanessa Doyle came up agonisingly short of landing the Under 17 57kg title after she lost out on a very tight 3-2 split decision against Dealgan’s Daisy Kiernan.

Doyle was coming into this contest having surmounted the challenge of Ellie Murray of Golden Gloves Cork in the quarter-finals and Nina O’Toole of Ballybrack in the last four, both by way of unanimous 5-0 decisions.

But, while Kiernan did provide a much more severe test, Ryan still felt that Doyle had done enough to take gold, saying “I’d say, without a doubt, that Vanessa won that fight, but that’s the way the decision goes.” A third-round stoppage of Ballybrack’s Jamie Roberts saw Paul Casey through to the Under 17 44kg final where he was eventually beaten by Cody Byrne of St Abbans/Kilmyshall.

Reaching the decider, nevertheless, marked another impressive achievement for the young Portlaoise competitor who has enjoyed a real break-out season after scooping his first All-Ireland title back in March when he beat Johnny Sweeney of Olympic Galway BC to lift the Boy Four 46kg prize.

Ryan was pleased with his performance, remarking after the final, “It was a penny on the ledge. I felt that Paul out-worked him, but the only thing was, when he was coming out after attacking his opponent, he was coming out too straight and he was getting caught sometimes, which cost him.

“But he did everything else so well and you can see that he’s a much improved boxer,” he said.

Tyson McInerney, meanwhile, missed out on a berth in Sunday’s finals after he lost out to Isaac Ireland from Banbridge in his Under 17 40kg semi, but Ryan insists he will have learnt so much from competing at this level.

“Tyson was very good at times, was winning the contest and then he would back himself into the corner or back himself onto the ropes, and get caught,” he explained.

“But I have to say, he's a lad who’s improved so much and he will absolutely learn from all this experience, because he has never been in the national championships,” he added.

Completing the line-up for Portlaoise in these championships was Bernard Doyle who lost out to Olympic’s Edward Ward in their Under 15 46kg quarter-final.

“Bernard is only a 12-year-old boy, so he’s extremely young, but he’s a very courageous young lad and has long levers, and I have to say, he's one to watch for the future,” stressed Ryan.