(FEB 14) Friday is Semi-finals night at the 2019 IABA Elite championships at the National Stadium in Dublin, sponsored by Liffey Crane Hire.

Here we concentrate on the women’s championships though sadly no one else has entered the 60kg Elite event thus AIBA World Champion Kellie Harrington will get a walk over on Finals night, February 22nd.

This is disappointing as only by fighting the best will potential future challengers of Harrington gain vital experience that would stand them in good stead in future.

What to look forward to on semi-finals night? Current European U/22 champion Amy Broadhurst from the Dealgan club is up against a fellow Dundalk ,County Louth fighter Shauna O’Callaghan who boxes out of the Clann Naofa Club in the town. Broadhurst’s vast experience on the international circuits at both U22 and Elite level make her a ‘hot favourite’ to advance to the final of 64kg where the current champion Moira McElligott awaits.

Said World no.8 Broadhurst after her U22 win: “I was delighted with my performance, I did everything that was asked of me, I didn’t make many mistakes either so I was very happy with it, said the 21-year-old former European Youth and Junior champion after winning 16th Irish belt.” Versatile Kerry woman McElligott who now boxes out of the St Michael’s Athy club is also a well known horse racing jockey so will be hoping to surmount the next hurdle in defence of her Irish title.

Another noted former horse rider – and indeed also a Gaelic Footballer of note, Dervla Duffy meets up and coming Mary Geraghty in the 57kg weight class semi-final with the winner through to the following weekend’s final against the highly rated former champion, Michaela Walsh who has moved up a weight this year.

Walsh from the Monkstown Antrim club is also a member of the Irish High Performance Unit, under the guidance of ex-World Pro Champion and now HPU Director Bernard Dunne. We have previously reported Walsh’s exploits in the last two Commonwealth Games, particularly her silver medal in Glasgow when many of the journalists present, including your correspondent, felt she had done enough to merit Gold. The judges felt otherwise much to the disgust of the Northern Ireland fans and many neutrals. Adams of course retained her Olympic title in Rio 2016 following upon her initial success in London 2012.

Another final to look forward to is that between Athlone’s Chayanne O’Neill now boxing at 75kg who meets the highly regarded Aoife O’Rourke of the Castlerea BC in County Roscommon. That too promises fireworks., as O’Rourke has arrived on the Elite scene in recent months including the U22’s and the Youth Olympics in Argentina. We’ll update you with all this weekend’s women’s bouts from.

Christina Desmond makes a welcome return to these Championships having been out of the sport for over a year due to injury and business commitments. World Youth finalist and 2014 Youth Olympian Desmond is in against Tina Donnelly at welter.

“It would be nice to win it out, definitely. That’s the plan and we’ll see how it goes at the Stadium, said Macroom southpaw Desmond.

“Semi-finals at the National Elites are always special and I’m very much looking forward to the challenge. I’ve put in a lot of hard work in the gym and I’m ready to go.”

Grainne Walsh, the defending titlist who claimed the inaugural Best Female Boxer Award the 2018 Elites, meets Gillian Duffy in the corresponding welterweight semi-final.

Welter is one of the new Olympic limits for women. The 69kg class and feather have been added to fly, light and middle for Tokyo 2020.

Sadly missing this year is Ceire Smith, the versatile Irish international who should be fit to return to the scene in mid-March following recent injuries and will be another for the IABA HPU team to consider for future Internationals and Olympic qualifiers. Ceire has long been a stalwart of Irish female boxing since the early Katie Taylor days and it will be great to see her back in an Irish vest before long.

The Elite Finals will take place on 22nd February when there will be LIVE TV coverage by Irish language broadcaster TG4 who have been great supporters of Irish Amateur boxing.

2019 National Men’s and Women’s Elite Championships National Stadium Dublin:

February 15 – complete programme:

Quarter-finals & Semi-Finals (7pm):

Q/Finals:

48kg Chloe Fleck (Canal) V Carol Coughlan (Monkstown Dublin)

48kg Ciara Walsh (Smithfield) V Donna Barr (Illies GG,Donegal)

S/Finals:

49kg Sean Mari (Monkstown Dublin) V Rory Baird (Ederney)

52kg Adam Hession (Monivea) V Ricky Nesbitt (Holy Family Drogheda)

57kg Mary Geraghty (St Anthony’s Dublin) V Dearbhla Duffy (Crumlin,Dublin)

57kg Myles Casey (St Francis, Limerick) V Christian Cekiso (Portlaoise)

57kg Tommy Casey (St Francis ,Limerick ) V Patryk Adamus (Drimnagh)

60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ballymun) V Shane Flavin (Portlaoise)

64kg Shauna O’Callaghan (Clann Naofa, Dundalk ) V Amy Broadhurst (Dealgan, Dundalk)

69kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgan's,Cork City) V Tina Donnelly (Dublin Docklands)

69kg Gillian Duffy (St Mary’s Dublin) V Grainne Walsh (Spartacus,Offaly)