The draw has taken place for the 2026 European U17 Championships, ahead of the beginning tomorrow of boxing in Budva, Montenegro.
The 18 strong team includes 2025 European U17 medalist, Pat Stokes of Mullingar Shuffler, and last year’s European U15 medalists Thomas O’Reilly, Portlaoise and Ronan Charles, Mullingar Elite BC, alongside 15 national champions – many of whom are 2026 Four Nations medalists. This team has been in High Performance training since mid-August, including an away camp in Galway this weekend.
A record-breaking 473 boxers will contest the championships, of whom 158 are women and 315 are men means byes, and byes to medal stages, are few and far between. The entire women’s team get their championships underway at Last 16 stage, with four bouts to the top of the podium – however, the complete men’s team must win five bouts to gold.
The draw has thrown-up some potentially scintilating meetings for Team Ireland. At 54kg, Sean Kelly could face Turkey’s Yiğit Keskin, a particularly notable possible opponent. Keskin won silver at the 2025 European U17 Championships at 52kg, where he met Kelly in the final and lost to the Irish boxer. Both appear in the 2026 draw at 54kg, so their paths could cross again if they progress through their respective sections. It would be a rematch between the reigning champion at the lower weight and the previous silver medallist.
At 52kg, Maisie Flanagan could potentially encounter Ukraine’s Anhelina Rumiantseva as the championship progresses. Rumiantseva contested the semi-final stage of the 2025 European U17 Championships, which secured her a medal. Flanagan’s opening bout is against England’s Delilah Lambert. At 54kg, Saoirse Donnelly could have to contest England’s Letitia McKee, a European Schools gold medallist in 2024. McKee is listed in the same weight category and draw as Donnelly, whose opening opponent is Croatia’s Ema Halajko. If both boxers win their opening contests and advance along the relevant bracket path, McKee could become a later opponent
The complete championship draw is available here
The 40 participating federations are: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine
Team Ireland is led and managed by Shirley Kenney of Curadh BC, and Gabe Cronnelly of Monivea. The team is coached by Ken Moore, St. Francis BC, Limerick; Damien Flood, Cabra BC, Dublin; Linda Morgan, Arklow BC, Wicklow and Gus Farrell, Monivea BC, Galway. Malachy Scott, Glengormley BC, Antrim, has been appointed R&J.
Competition Schedule
Boxing begins on October 3rd, and all finals will take place on October 10th.
All Afternoon Sessions begin at 1pm, Irish time, and Evening Sessions start at 5pm.
Day One
Three Team Ireland boxers in action on Day One, all boxing Last 32 contests.
70kg Paddy Nevin makes his tournament debut against Slovenia’s Aleks Vas in Bout 9 of Ring A’s Afternoon Session. He’s expected in the ring at around 2:20pm.
Sean Kelly, boxing at 54kg, takes on Armenia’s Gagik Grigoryan in Bout 3 of Ring B’s Evening Session, at around 5:25pm.
Lightweight, Christy Joyce, opens his account against Poland’s Ksawery Urbanski in Bout 8 of Ring A’s Evening Session at approximately 6:20pm
Schedule Ring A, Afternoon Session | Ring B, Afternoon Session | Ring A, Evening Session | Ring B, Evening Session
Watch Live
The Montengro Boxing Federation is streaming the championships live on its YouTube channel
Watch Ring A here
Watch Ring B here
Team Ireland
46kg Ronan Charles, Mullingar Elite BC, Westmeath
48kg Macie O’Connor, Cabra BC, Dublin
48kg Rylee Finn, St. Nicholas BC, Tipperary
50kg Lucie Prentice, Banbridge BC, Down
50kg Pat Stokes, Mullingar Shuffler BC, Westmeath
52kg Maisie Flanagan, Muckno BC, Monaghan
52kg Martin Nevin, Mullingar Shuffler BC, Westmeath
54kg Saoirse Donnelly, Setanta BC, Kildare
54kg Sean Kelly, St. Abban’s/Kilmyshall BC, Wexford
57kg Daisy Kiernan, Dealgan BC, Louth
57kg Martin Donovan, Treaty BC, Limerick
60kg Christy Joyce, Olympic BC, Mullingar, Westmeath
63kg Maicey Field, Baldoyle BC, Dublin
63kg John Delaney, Urlingford BC, Kilkenny
66kg Robin O’Reilly, Monkstown BC, Dublin
70kg Paddy Nevin, Mullingar Elite BC, Westmeath
75kg Thomas O’Reilly, Portlaoise BC, Laois
80kg Charlie Dixon, Enniscorthy BC, Wexford.
Support Staff
Team Manager Shirley Kenny, Curadh BC, Wicklow
Team Manager Gabe Cronnelly, Monivea BC, Galway
Coach Ken Moore, St. Francis BC, Limerick
Coach Damien Flood, Cabra BC, Dublin
Coach Linda Morgan, Arklow BC, Wicklow
Coach Gus Farrell, Monivea BC, Galway
R&J Malachy Scott, Glengormley BC, Antrim