From midnight tonight, we take ownership of our new identity as Boxing Ireland.
Rebranding is about far more than a new logo. It is about celebrating who we are, recognising our shared history, and clearly expressing where we are going as a sport and as a community. Boxing Ireland reflects the reality that boxing and boxers are Built Different. We strive, we achieve, we build discipline, we change lives, and we uplift communities in a way that no other sport does.
Featuring double Olympic champion, Kellie Harrington, international boxer James Whelan and underage European champions Kristian Jubani & Roisin Hegarty, this keynote identity piece has been voiced by multi-award winning actor and Hollywood star, Liam Neeson. Liam was a champion boxer in his youth, contesting for All Saints ABC Ballymena
Boxing Ireland CEO Gary Stewart said “Boxing Ireland is a brand built to honour the past, empower the present and really put our purpose as a community front and centre. It gives us a clearer, stronger and more recognisable identity, both at home and internationally, which is essential for increasing awareness of Irish boxing and the incredible talent within our community. Boxing builds people for life. The new identity says unequivocally that we are Boxing Ireland, and we’re proud of it.
Gary adds “This is about building a brand that properly reflects the quality, professionalism and impact of Irish boxing, and ensuring our boxers are supported, promoted and celebrated at every level of the sport. Boxing Ireland provides a powerful commercial platform that will help us attract new partners alongside Nike and Sting, sponsors and investment, creating real opportunities to reinvest in our clubs, our competitions and, most importantly, our boxers. Greater awareness leads to greater opportunity, and greater opportunity allows our athletes to thrive in and and out of the ring. This is a really exciting time for our sport”.
Boxing Ireland President, Anto Donnelly, said “Now is the time for Boxing Ireland. I am immensely proud to welcome our new identity. This rebrand is about strengthening our foundations and putting our clubs and communities at the very heart of everything we do. Our grassroots clubs are the lifeblood of Irish boxing. They are where young people find opportunity, discipline, confidence and belonging.”
Anto adds “Boxing Ireland gives us a stronger, clearer and more modern platform to support those clubs, to attract new members, volunteers and partners, and to ensure that investment reaches the places where it makes the greatest difference. While our name and identity evolve, our purpose remains the same: to protect our heritage, empower our clubs, and create the best possible environment for every boxer, coach and volunteer in the country.”
2025 World Bronze Medalist, Grainne Walsh, was a key member of the re-brand steering committee. She said “Boxing Ireland is a new chapter for our sport. It’s about a positive, visible identity which respects our incredible heritage and looks forward to the future. Boxers and Boxing are Built Different. We’re a unique community and becoming Boxing Ireland honours that. It’s a really exciting time.”
Project Re-Cap
Clubs, units and members were invited to contribute views and opinions throughout September. Those who did so also took part in one-on-one workshops and interviews, ensuring that voices from across our community were heard and that everyone who wanted to contribute had the opportunity to do so.
The details of the rebrand, including the Boxing Ireland logo, were shared by our re-branding partner Patrick Murphy of Branding Sport in an in-person presentation and Q&A session with all clubs taking part in the Club Forum on November 17th. We also shared Patrick’s presentation, including the Boxing Ireland logo, with all clubs & units by email on that day and on iaba.ie
BoxingIreland.ie
As part of our re-brand, we have developed a new website: Boxingireland.ie. This is an information hub for all clubs and their members, but will also showcase the best of us: boxers, clubs, officials, administrators and leaders. This website goes live at midnight.
For the first time, we have also included a Club Locator facility. This has been developed using the clubhouse address each club has chosen to include in their Blocworx portal.
BoxingIreland.ie is a living website, which means it will develop and grow, overtime.
Safeguarding our Heritage
Our 115-year history shapes who we are as a community, and it’s vital that we protect and promote our heritage. Here’s how we are doing this:
- We listened when the participants at the Club Forum shared the importance to clubs and boxers of retaining the IABA crest on National Championship. National Championship medals will continue to bare the IABA crest.
- Since 1990, tens of thousands of hours of boxing footage has been recorded in the National Stadium. We are continuing our digitization project, restoring and publishing this footage on YouTube channel, here. This is a living project, to which we will add over time.
- We have digitized all Central Council and Central Council Standing Committee meeting minutes from 1934 to 1987, and these will shortly be available on boxingireland.ie. This is a living project, to which we will add over time.
- Honouring the work of the late Joe Kirwan in collecting historic national championship results, his archive is being digitized. Results as collected by him from the 1950s are now available on boxingireland.ie. This is a living project, to which we will add over time.
- We are in the early stages of developing a heritage installation for the National Stadium, which will showcase the boxing community throughout the decades.
In terms of Company Law, we remain a registered entity as “Irish Athletic Boxing Association”
Boxing Ireland | Built Different will honour, promote and platform our entire community in a way that is instantly recognizable at home and abroad.
Boxing Ireland | Built Different will invite new members to join our community, through heightened visibility of our sport, our boxers and our clubs
Boxing Ireland | Built Different will encourage new commercial partnerships and sponsorships, which are vital investments for the development of our clubs, boxers and infrastructure.