Anto Donnelly has been elected President of Boxing Ireland for a second consecutive term. Results of elections to Central Council and of Member Directors were declared at Boxing Ireland’s 2026 AGM.
241 clubs registered their preference, a turn-out of c. 71% of all affiliated clubs. One vote was accounted as spoilled. Paddy Barnes Snr. and Tom Murray were returned as Member Directors, havin won 151 and 104 votes, respectively.
Reacting to his re-election, President Donnelly said “I feel elated at this moment in time, after the voting came in. I feel very appreciative of all of the support of the clubs, across the island, that they’ve shown faith in me to carry on for another two year term, to continue the progress we’ve made in the last two years’
This election is also an historic one, as it is the first time two women have been elected to the Officer Board of Central Council – Secretary, Tara Robins Mari and Treasurer, Jennifer O’Sullivan Coffey; they’re joined by two women directly elected as Ordinary Members: Shirley Kenny & Amanda Spencer.
The 2026-2028 Central Council election marks the standing down of Larry Morrision. Larry was first elected Treasurer in 2015 and returned to office in elections in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024. He also served as Anti-Doping Officer for almost two decades, standing down in 2024.
Elections
Candidates for the office of President:
- Donnelly, Anto: 152 votes
- O’Rourke, Dominic: 88 votes
Candidates for the office of Vice President:
- Duffy, Eugene: elected, unopposed. 205 votes registered
Candidates for the office of Secretary:
- Robins Mari, Tara: elected, unopposed. 204 votes registered
Candidates for the office of Treasurer:
- O’Sullivan Coffey, Jennifer: elected, unopposed. 205 votes registered
Candidates for the office of Registrar:
- Connolly, Stephen: 176 votes
- McGillion, Garry: 61 votes
Candidates for the office of Ordinary Member:
- Duncan, Andrew: 127 votes
- Farrell, Gus: 160 votes
- Gallagher, John: 127 votes
- Kenny, Shirley: 132 votes
- Keogh, Phil: 164 votes
- O’Toole, Paul: 149 votes
- Spencer, Amanda: 128 votes
- Sutcliffe, Phil: 147 votes
The following members were deemed not elected:
Joyce, Johnny: 123 votes
Scott, Malachy: 112 votes
McGillion, Donna-Marie, 63 votes
McLaverty, Patrick, 31 votes
Agenda Items
Two | The minutes of the 2025 AGM were adopted, having been proposed by Tommy Lyons and seconded by Eugene Duffy.
Three | The Chair’s Address and CEO Report was delivered by CEO Gary Stewart
Four | The 2026 Boxing Ireland Clean Sport report was drafted and delivered by Boxing Ireland Anti-Doping Liaison Officer, Sean Crowley
Five | The 2026 Boxing Ireland Safeguarding & Integrity report was drafted and delivered by National Safeguarding and Integrity Manager, Stephen Flynn, on behalf of the Safeguarding & Integrity Committee
Six | Auditor’s Report & Presentation of Financial Statements was delivered by Declan Fitzgerald of Nexus Accounting
Seven | Appointment of Nexus Accounting as Boxing Ireland’s Auditors was proposed and seconded.
Motions
Attending member clubs also voted on three motions
Motion 1, Online EGM | An indicative motion. Rationale | Allows EGMs to take place online, or with both online and in-person attendance. This makes attendance easier, reduces travel costs, and confirms that online attendance counts towards the quorum. Status | This motion was passed by a majority of members.
Motion 2, Electronic Voting in Elections | A change to the Rule Book and relevant appendices. Rationale | Allows electronic voting in elections. Postal voting will remain available, on request. Votes must remain secret, secure, and open to proper validation. This changes the method used to vote in elections, only. It does not change the Constitution’s rules for attending or voting on motions at general meetings. Status | This motion was passed by a majority of members.
Motion 3 | Introduction of a €10 Youth Development Levy to support provincial and national youth development. Rationale | Introduce an annual individual registration fee for competitive boxers of all ages, and recreational boxers of all ages. Status | This motion was not passed by a majority of members. Individual registration, without the Youth Development Levy, will go ahead.
Boxing Convention
The AGM was preceeded by the first Boxing Convention to take place in some years, attended today by representatives of 24 clubs.
It featured presentations from President, Anto Donnelly, High Performance Director Jon Mackey, Head of Club Support and Participation Rachel Moffet and Pathway Development Lead, Daithi McCabe.
In addition to these presentations, discussions took place with attendees on the R&J pathway, R&J appointments, the National Calendar, the Coaching Pathway, team selection and related matters.
The discussion points at today’s event will be conveyed to the incoming Central Council for deliberation.