Cathal McLaughlin, Aodhan Byrne added to Fight Night at the Valley card

Cathal McLaughlin and Aodhan Byrne will take to the ring next month when professional boxing checks into the Twin Towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar for the first time.

McLaughlin and Byrne have been added to the Fight Night at the Valley card, which takes place in the Finn Valley Centre on February 21. 

Donegal’s former world middleweight title challenger Jason Quigley is putting on the show in his hometown - and at a venue that he has a close attachment to.

McLaughlin (2-0), a 29-year-old middleweight from Strabane, was a National Senior champ in 2023 when he overcame TK King in the final.

Soon after, McLaughlin, who is still trained at Raphoe Boxing Club, ditched the vest and he defeated Martin Shaw on points on his debut at The SSE Arena in August 2024 before overcoming George Rogers, also on points, at The Devenish last June.

Byrne, a 23-year-old from Kilcullen in Co Kildare, was an Irish Senior champion in 2025 and has inked a deal with Sheer Sports.

Byrne, a grandson of Tommy and Joy Long from Carrickmagrath in Ballybofey, will now have something of a homecoming debut in the Twin Towns.

Training under the watch of Niall Barrett and Unit 3 in Naas, he was a gold medalist at the 2024 Porto Box Cup and was in Irish Senior finals in 2022 and 2023.

McLaughlin’s fellow Raphoe Boxing Club graduate Danny Duffy (3-0) is set to face Lakshmy Zaragoza in a six-rounder in Stranorlar.

Duffy had a points win over Ricky Starkey in an exciting tussle in Letterkenny in October and is keen to build momentum.

Fight Night At The Valley will also feature cruiserweight Jason Myers (4-0, 3KOs), light-heavyweight David Kennedy (2-0) and Daniel Fakoyede (1-0).

The show comes hot on the heels of two highly successful pro shows, Rumble In The Hills, hosted by Sheer Sports in Letterkenny in 2023 and 2025.

Quigley said: “This is me starting something and I have a vision of going this and being successful. I want this to be an annual thing and keep coming back, bigger and better.

“This will be the start of a long journey and this isn’t just a one-and-done show; I am really planning to build this and grow. This will bring business and bring eyes to the town.

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“I also want to show the local boxers from this area that the opportunity doesn’t have to be a million miles away; it can be right here, on the doorstep. That is really my main aim and main goal.

“This is really exciting for me, especially coming back to the Finn Valley Centre, a place I have trained in all of my life. It is a place I had many great nights in, for homecomings and also I boxed there as an amateur. It will be strange to be outside the ropes, but really exciting.”