‘Electrical’: Roisin Hegarty joins greats as Donegal’s first female European champion

Roisin Hegarty could feel the weight of history as she entered the ring at the Mediterranean Sports Center.

Rather than buckling under the strain, Hegarty - the Twin Towns Boxing Club lightweight - Hegarty broke new ground in Budva, Montenegro.

By the waters of the Adriatic Sea, Hegarty went into previously uncharted waters for Donegal boxing.

In beating Tetiana Zvenihorodska in the 63kgs final at the European U15 Championships, Hegarty became the first female boxer from Donegal to win a European gold. Only Steven O’Reilly and Jason Quigley had ever won golds from these parts.

“Electrical,” beams Hegarty with a smile permanently affixed as she surveys a large crowd who have gathered to welcome her back to the Twin Towns Boxing Club. 

“I can't really put it into words how it feels. It feels so good, it doesn't really feel real.

“I don't think anything can actually compare to this.”

 The Twin Towns BC base at Dunfril House reeks of history with the club having had 50 national titles. A plaque commemorates Brian Anderson Snr’s appearance at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the walls tell the story of a rich past. 

Hegarty - who was a co-captain of the Irish squad in Montenegro - now joins that pantheon of greats from the club. Her Twin Towns BC predecessor O’Reilly won 68kgs gold at the 2004 European Schoolboys while Jason Quigley of Finn Valley ABC won Elite, U22 and Youth golds in 2013, 2012 and 2009.

Roisin Hegarty with coach John Elliott and her dad, Raymond

“My aim was definitely gold,” Hegarty said. “Every time I have won bronze, I have been more hungrier for the gold.

“I did have around five days to wait to upgrade my medal to silver. I was still training and pushing myself. I had a rest day for about one day, and then I was back training.”

Having stopped Mia Aleksa in the third round of her quarter-final, Hegarty had a few days off before she overcame Ivana Kilci from Turkey to seal a final spot.

There, she took control of the decider and at one stage sent Zvenihorodska spinning with a deadly left hand. The Ukrainian roared from her corner in the third round, but the efficient Hegarty - the daughter of Raymond Hegarty and Norma Tembo from Letterkenny - had the spadework done.

The Loreto Secondary School student said: “It was good, and at the same time, it was a lot of pressure because I wouldn't want to settle for any other medal but gold. And I felt like I had too much to lose, but it was really good, and I was enjoying every bit of it.”

Hegarty was beaten in a quarter-final at the 2024 European Schoolgirls Championships in Bosnia & Herzegovina, but hit back this year to win the Irish U15 64kgs title at the National Stadium, beating Jessica Flanagan in the final. Previously, she won the Girl 1 51kgs title in 2023 and adding the Girl 2 57kgs and Junior Cadet 60kgs crowns in 2024.

Roisin Hegarty with club members at Twin Towns Boxing Club

She is certainly not resting on the shine of her European gold.

She said: “I’ll probably take a week for a break, and then I'll get back stuck into it. In February I'll have my All-Irelands and I'll go out to win that again. 

“It is tough, not any part of boxing is easy.  If anything, the ring works the easiest. The training and all is probably the most hardest, but you have to have a really good mentality for boxing. 

“I train around five days a week - three in the club, and then two for the gym. It’s hard, but I do definitely enjoy boxing.”

In all, the Irish team won 13 medals to place third in the medal table.

Pa Casey from Kerry won the 44kgs title, Kieran McDonagh scooped the 57kgs crown and Thomas O’Reilly landed the 75kgs win.

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Hegarty was given a hero’s welcome home to her club on Wednesday night.

“The club had the first male boxer from Donegal to get a European old medal and now we've got the first female to get a gold medal,” said Twin Towns BC’s Brian Anderson Jnr. 

“This is unbelievable for me. All I can say from the club is a big thank you and congratulations to Roisin.”

The President of the County Donegal Boxing Board, James McCarron said: “A European gold medal is phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”