Two more Team Ireland boxers will join Daina Moorehouse, Lisa O’Rourke, Aoife O’Rourke and Jon McConnell in the quarter finals of the European Elite Championships.
Jack Marley is through to the medal stages having won his 90kg Last 16 contest against Aryan Panah Saed of the World Boxing Refugee Team Judges scored the bout: 29:26; 27:28; 27:28, 27:28; 29:28 Jack boxes for a medal in Tuesday’s Afternoon Session against Georgia’s Georgii Kushitashvli, a 2022 European and 2023 World medalist.
Speaking to Boxing Ireland’s Grainne Walsh at ringside, he said “My opponent was short, stocky, he was like a bull. He didn’t stop – whether that was with punches or with his head. It was a bit like trying to be in a mosh pit for three rounds but I really enjoyed it, getting my campaign underway.’
This was a testy bout boxed at close quarters, and Jack said “The second you get frustrated….If we’re in a clinch, I’ll just say what it is to the ref ‘elbow’ or ‘head’. If he doesn’t do something about it, I move on and forget about it.’
‘Yeah, really look forward to it (the next bout), and looking forward to enjoying tonight to relax, look back on my performance take the positives away and work on the negatives. Yeah, really happy.’
Evelyn Igharo is also through to the quarter finals. She won her 70kg Last 16 contest against Belarussian, Aryna Danilchyk 4-1, leveraging her reach and ringcraft to advantage and forcing standing counts in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Judges scored the bout: 30:26; 30:27; 30:27; 30:27; 29:26 Evelyn boxes for a medal in Tuesday’s Afternoon Session against England’s Chantelle Reid. Reid, a Paris Olympian, was a bronze medalist at the 2025 World Boxing Championships, and won silver at the weight at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Speaking to Grainne, Evelyn said “First one out of the way, I feel great. A bit rusty, I’ve waited four days to box so excited to get the first one out of the way.’ She added “I’ve had a hard year, coming back competitively, so over the moon with a first win’.
A tight, thrilling and highly technical Men’s 65kg Last 16 contest, but not be for Team Ireland’s Dean Clancy. The Sligo Olympian contested against France’s Hugo Grau – a 3-0 pro boxer, World Boxing Cup China champion, Mediterranean Games bronze medalist. The 5-0 decision went to Grau on a scoreline of 29:28; 29:28; 29:28; 30:27; 30:27.
Speaking to Grainne directly after his bout, he said “I’m a bit disappointed now, in fairness. I was down in the first round. I came out guns blazing in the second and I thought I was sharper, had stronger shots. It was against me in the second round. I won the last round, in fairness, 3-2. He’s a top operator. He won the World Cup in China. He’s been around a while, he’s experienced – and massive for the weight. It was tight, very tight now in fairness. It could have gone either way. I’ll look back at it, take the positives, learning from my mistakes and what I can do better.”
He adds “There’s no better way to learn than on the job. Its putting not just myself, but the team as a whole, on great tracks for next year in terms of Olympic qualifiers. Take the positives from it, take the positives from it….I’m always grateful to wear this vest and box for Ireland, inspiring the next generation coming through and make family and friends and everyone at home proud. I want to thank God for everything.”
Not to be for Paris Olympian Jennifer Lehane in her 54kg Last 16 contest. She put in a battling performance in a tough, tight contest against fellow Paris Olympian, Wassila Lkhadiri. The 4-1 decision went to Lkhadiri on a scoreline of 29:28; 30:27, 29:28; 28:29; 29: 28.
A valiant performance by Team Ireland’s Cliona D’Arcy, but not to be. She boxed her 80+kg Quarter Final against double Olympian and 2014 Youth Olympian, Poland’s Elżbieta Wójcik. The 5-0 decision went to Wójcik. Judges scored the bout 30:27; 30: 25; 30: 26; 30:26; 30:25.
Of boxers yet to make their debut in Sofia, reigning World Champion Aoife O’Rourke must wait until Tuesday to begin her tournament. She’s starting at 75kg quarter final stage, against the winner of the Last 16 contest between Poland and France.
406 boxers are competing in this World Boxing ranking event, drawn from 40 federations: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, World Boxing Refugee Team, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.
The complete Championship draw is available here.
All images: Magrit Kincses. The complete album is available here
How to Watch
Eurovision Sport will broadcast the complete championships here: https://eurovisionsport.com/en/home
The RTE Player is streaming Ring A sessions in which Team Ireland box here: https://www.rte.ie/player/
Day Five
The action in Sofia continues on Monday, with five Team Ireland boxers vying for quarter finals berths.
Kellie McLoughlin has a bye to the Last 16 of in the Women’s lightweight category. She’ll take on seasoned French campaigner, Sthélyne Grosy, who has recently moved up to 60kg. She’s a multiple European U22/U23 medalist. That is Bout 2 of Ring A’s Afternoon Session, at 11:45am.
Jude Gallagher boxes his lightweight Last 16 contest tomorrow, taking on France’s Lounes Hamraoi, a 2022 European medalist. That’s Bout 6 of Ring B’s Afternoon Session, at around 12:45pm
Double Olympian, and 2026 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Michaela Walsh has a bye and opens her account at Last 16 stage against Montengro’s Bojana Gojkovic. That’s the opening contest in Ring B’s Evening Session, at 4pm.
Commonwealth Games champ, 70kg Jon McConnell is back for his third contest. He boxes for a medal against Gabriele Guidi Rontani of Italy, the reigning Mediterranean Games champion and a World Boxing Cup China bronze medalist at 75kg in Bout 6 of Ring B’s Evening Session. He should be in action at 5:15pm.
And in the subsequent bout, Gavin Rafferty gets his campaign underway. He boxes a 75kg Last 16 against Mateusz Urban of Poland, a World Boxing Cup China bronze medalist.
Schedules Ring A, Afternoon Session | Ring B, Afternoon Session | Ring A, Evening Session | Ring B, Evening Session
Team Ireland
48kg Shannon Sweeney, St. Anne’s BC, Mayo
51kg Daina Moorehouse, Enniskerry BC, Wicklow
54kg Jennifer Lehane, DCU BC, Dublin
57kg Michaela Walsh, Holy Family BC, Belfast
60kg Kellie McLoughlin, St. Catherine’s BC, Dublin
60kg Jude Gallagher, Two Castles Olympic, Tyrone
65kg Dean Clancy, Sean McDermott BC, Leitrim
70kg Evelyn Igharo, Clann Naofa BC, Louth
70kg Jon McConnell, Holy Trinity BC, Belfast
75kg Aoife O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon
75kg Gavin Rafferty, Dublin Docklands BC
80kg Lisa O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon
80+kg Cliona D’Arcy, Tobair Pheadair BC, Galway
90kg Jack Marley, Monkstown BC, Dublin
Support Staff
Team Manager| Jon Mackey
Head Coach | Damian Kennedy
Coach | James Doyle
Coach | Jay Delaney
Coach | Liam Cunningham
Coach | Lynne McEnery
Physiotherapist| Rob Tuomey
Doctor | Dr. Jim Clover
Psychologist | Dr. Paul Aherne
Analyst | Alan Swanton
HOPS | Paul Carragher
About the European Elite Championships
- This is the first European Boxing Elite Championships under the banner of European Boxing and within the World Boxing family
- This is a World Boxing ranking event, with points award from 1st to 8th place: 1st Place -800 points, 2nd Place -500 points; 3rd Place -300 points; 4th Place -300 points and 150 points for those finishing 5th-8th place.
- 40 national federations are eligible to compete in the tournament.
- Competition dates: 17th-25th September. There is no rest day at this tournament. Quarter finals take place on September 22nd and 23rd. , semi finals on September 24th. Finals and medal ceremonies will take place on during the second session on September 24th, and on September 25th.
- Afternoon Sessions will begin at 12pm, Irish time – Evening Sessions will get underway at 4pm.
- Competition venue: Asics Arena, Sofia, Bulgaria