Donegal boxers set for Ulster 9 County Championships

Irish Youth 2 champion Conor Durning leads the Donegal charge for the Ulster 9 County 4-7 Championships, which glove off in Belfast this weekend.

Donegal clubs are well represented for the Championships with quarter-finals and semi-finals taking place this Saturday and the first series of finals slated for Sunday.

Durning will go down the Ballymurphy Road in West Belfast to face Jake Daly from D-Box in a Boy 6 60kgs quarter-final on Saturday. Earlier this year, Dunfanaghy Boxing Club’s Durning defeated Mullingar puncher Jack McNamara to land the Irish Youth 2 57kgs title.

Also in a quarter-final, St Bridget’s Clonmany boxer Fintan Robertson goes up against Lorcan Clancy from Rathfriland at Boy 4 54kgs.

Six Donegal boxers head into semi-finals on Saturday.

Caoimhin Connolly of Twin Towns faces Finn Gilmore (Bainbridge) at Boy 4 46kgs, while Raphoe’s Gary McNamara clashes Portadown’s Nous Samatakus at Boy 5 60kgs.

Dunfanaghy’s Luke Kelly meets Cairnlodge’s man Aaron Foster at Boy 5 66kgs with Kieran Cunningham from Carndonagh going head-to-head with St John Bosco Belfast’s Archie Richie at Boy 5 70kgs.

In a Boy 6 middleweight semi-final, Twin Towns’ Joey O’Hara faces Erne’s Darragh Kelly and Paul McCloskey from Illies Golden Gloves squares up to Townlands’ Lee Hanna in a Boy 7 67kgs semi.

St Bridget’s, Clonmany’s Conan Kearney, who was the Irish Boy 2 56kgs champion in 2021 and a gold medal winner at this year’s William Wallace Box Cup, is in semi-final action on Sunday. Kearney faces Gareth McCann from Oliver Plunker’s in a semi-final at Boy 4 66kgs.

HSK Box Cup gold medalist David Tennyson of Raphoe BC goes against Eoin Trainor (John McCoy BC) in a Boy 4 57kgs semi with Cathoir Keenan awaiting a quarter-final winner for a Boy 4 54kgs semi-final.

Raphoe BC’s Rian Patton will line up in Sunday’s Boy 5 50kgs final against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

On Saturday-week, Jack McElroy of Raphoe will go against Cohen McCabe from Castleblaney in the Boy 6 63kgs final.

Four Donegal boxers are already assured of titles via walkover victories: Jack Boyle (Dunfanaghy, Boy 4 75kgs); Kerry Brown (Convoy, Girl 4 55kgs); Lani Lafferty (Girl 6, 70kgs); Oisin Dobbins (Illies, Boy 7 92kgs)