A superb opening day for Team Ireland at the European U17 Championships in Budva, Montenegro, with a 100% win record.
Paddy Nevin has opened Team Ireland’s account in style. He boxed his 70kg Last 32 contest against Slovenia’s Aleks Vas and dominated throughout, forcing counts. Judges scored the bout 26:30; 26:30: 27:29; 26:30; 25:30, reflecting a point deduction for Vas. Paddy is next in action at Last 16 stage on Tuesday, when he’ll take on Armenia’s Bagrat Ghazaryan in the Afternoon Session.
Reigning European champ, Team Ireland’s Sean Kelly, has opened his 2026 U17 account with a bang. The 52kg gold medalist, now boxing at 54kg, took on Armenia’s Gagik Grigoryan in a Last 32 contest in Budva – and won every round on all score-cards. The bout was scored: 27:30; 27:30; 27:30; 26:30; 26:30. Sean is back in action on Tuesday. Sean, one of the team’s co-captains, contests his Last 16 bout in the Afternoon Session against Gardash Rahimov of Azerbaijan.
Christy Joyce makes it three-from-three for Team Ireland on the opening day of the championships. He was in a Last 32 contest against Poland’s Ksawery Urbanski and left the 5-0 decision in his favour in no doubt. The final scores were: 26:30; 27:29; 27:29; 26:30; 26:30, reflecting a point deduction for Urbanski. Christy will box his Last 16 contest on Tuesday, against the winner of the meeting between Ukraine and Croatia.
The complete championship draw is available here
A record-breaking 473 boxers will contest the championships, of whom 158 are women and 315 are men. 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 Two
Boxing continues in Budva this evening, and Sunday’s schedule in terms of rings and bout numbers hasn’t yet been released, however, it is a bumper day for Team Ireland with 6 between the ropes.
Macie Duffy O’Connor has a bye to the Last 16 of the women’s 48kg category, and will take on Aydan Ismayilli of Azerbaijan in the Afternoon Session. Also in action in the Afternoon Session is 50kg Lucie Prentice – she opens her account at the tournament at Last 16 stage against England’s Lily Green. So, too, does 54kg Saoirse Donnelly – she contests against Croatia’s Ema Halajko in the same session. 63kg Maicey Field also boxes in the Afternoon Session, against Croatia’s Mia Aleksa.
In the Evening Session, team co-captain Daisy Kieran makes her debut at Last 16 stage against Russia’s Agata Dedova. 50kg Pat Stokes is also in this session and contests against Scotland’s Charlie Bonnar for a place in the Last 16.
This article will be up-date when Sunday’s schedules are available.
Watch Live
The Montengro Boxing Federation is streaming the championships live on its YouTube channel. Links, by ring, will be published on the day of boxing.
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