Irish Amateur Boxing Association Press Officer Bernard O’Neill

The Paulstown BC in Kilkenny claimed two  titles at the 2012 National Youth Championships at Dublin’s National Stadium  today.

Keith Flavin and Hannah  Carthy, boxing at the men’s and women’s light-flyweight limits, recorded wins  over Adam Courtney and Shelly Daly.

Flavin had his hands full with Courtney in  the opening two minutes of this morning’s 49kg contest. The newly crowned  champion found the target with some good combinations near the end of the round  to open up a 7-4 lead.

Courtney, however, won the next frame 5-4  to reduce the deficit to two points, but Flavin was on target five times in the  third to claim the title. Carthy, looked to be en route to a convincing win over  Daly after opening up a 5-1 lead.

But Daly, who boxes out of the Ballyhaunis  BC in Mayo, didn’t wilt under the first round onslaught and kept picking up  points via neat lefts in the second to trail by just two points. However, Carthy  kept blasting in right/left combinations in the third and fourth to run out a  27-14 winner.

AIBA World number three ranked middleweight  and Irish 2012 Olympian Darren O’Neill, also of the Paulstown BC, presented both  boxers with their medals.

There was mixed fortunes for the Immaculata  BC in 51kg and 56kg deciders with Nicole Meli winning, but 2011 European Youth  bronze medalist Joe Fitzpatrick losing out to the impressive Christopher Nevin  over three,three minutes rounds.

Nevin took every frame of this encounter to  finish on top of the podium. Earlier, Meli recorded an inside the distance  victory over the gallant Megan O’Donnell.

Meli, a 2011 European Junior Championships  bronze medalist, is now closing in on Martin “Mac Man” Lindsay’s record. Lindsay  claimed eight Irish titles at all levels for the Immaculata club.

However, Nicole “Mac Girl” Meli, who had  her parents Alfredo and Kathleen working her corner today, has now won seven and  is just one more National crown away from equaling the Immaculata legend.

Multiple Irish champion Kurt Walker  recorded a convincing win over Cork’s Eugene Brady. The Riverstown BC man  started this contest well and winged home some big shots in the opening frame.  However, once Walker, of the Canal club in Antrim, started getting into his  stride Brady was always going to be facing an uphill struggle.

European Junior Championships silver  medalist Christine Gargan was brought all the way down to the wire by Mayo’s  Lycia Heneghan. The see-saw duel for bantamweight supremacy went to a countback  after both boxers finished tied at 9-9, Gargan coming for behind to level in the  final round before taking the 54kg title on accepted scores.

Cork’s Karen O’Sullivan claimed the first  title – and her first Irish title – of the day for Leeside at the expense of  Elaine Daly. O’Sullivan had her hand raised in victory after the ref stopped the  contest in round three.

The second countback of the afternoon went  the way of Rachael Lally in the middleweight class. Lally was in against Robin  Smith and found herself trailing after the second before taking the third on her  way to victory.

Meanwhile, was this the first ever  all-Clare National boxing final in the 102-year history of the IABA? It  certainly appears that it was the first ever all female decider featuring two  boxers from Clare in over a century of Irish pugilism.

Kayleigh Murrihy and Antoinette Keane, of  the Kilfenora and Ennis clubs in the Banner County respectively, went toe-to-toe  for the lightweight title at the home of Irish boxing.

The first and second rounds finished tied  at 1-1 and 4-4. Keane’s pressure tactics appearing to be working in the opening  exchanges of the third – a frame which finished level at 8-8 -, but Murrihy was  countering well behind her long reach.

That left it all to play for in the fourth,  and it was Murrihy, firing home some basic, but very effective, left/right  combinations,that surged ahead to secure a 14-11 decision and a first for Irish  boxing.

The Dylan Carr versus Hugh Nevin  lightweight encounter, tipped in advance as a potential cracker, turned out to  be a very tactical, cagey affair, for the first two rounds at least. Neither  boxer dominated the first, which finished at 1-1, but Carr drove home a solid  left in the second and appeared to be grabbing the initiative.

However, Nevin finished the round strongly  to command a 4-2 lead. He also picked off some neat shots going down the final  stretch. Carr, throwing caution to the wind, finished on the front foot, but  there was no denying Nevin – who has now won ten Irish titles – on the day.

AIBA World number four ranked bantamweight  John Joe Nevin, a two-time Irish Olympian, presented both boxers with their  medals.

David Roche produced a fine performance  versus Belfast’s Thomas Waites to help the Riverstown BC bounce back from their  earlier disappointment. The Leesider looked very sharp, particularly in the  first and third rounds, en route to the 64kg plaudits.

Roche, courtesy of some slick combinations  to the body and head, took the first frame 4-1, but Waites held his own in the  second. However,Roche upped the tempo again in the third to seal a classy win – and his third Irish title this season.

The women’s 64kg title went to Katie Hyland – but only after an edge-of-the-seat clash with Shauna Flynn. The St Anne’s and  Inniskeen duo battled all the way down to the final bell before Hyland earned a  15-14 verdict.

Stephen Mulholland was crowned welterweight  champion following a high-scoring three-rounder with Limerick’s John Harty.  Mulholland held a four-point advantage going into the third, forcing Harty to go  for broke.

It almost worked as the Shannonsider  finished strong, but Mulholland, who met fire-with-fire with the final bell  approaching, did enough to claim a two-point margin of victory.

Anthony Coyle brought his fans with him to  the National Stadium. And the Geesala ace didn’t disappoint his supporters  versus Gurteen BC middleweight Patrick Ward. Coyle took this one 9-7 against an  opponent who was right in this fight up to very end.

Drimnagh BC light- heavyweight George  Boylan took home the 91kg title after recording and inside the distance win over  Patrick McDonagh, who took a standing count in the second.

Thomas Carthy added to his growing  reputation with a 14-10 decision over Donegal heavyweight Stephen Stokes to  claim the last title of the day and the last National title of the 2011/12  season.

National Youth Finals Saturday May 26th  National Stadium Dublin (11am)

48kg Hannah Carthy (Paulstown) beat Shelly  Daly (Ballyhaunis) 27-14

49kg Keith Flavin (Paulstown) beat Adam  Courtney (St Marys) 15-10

51kg Nicole Meli (Immaculata) beat Megan  O’Donnell (Dungloe) RSC3

52kg Kurt Walker (Canal) beat Eugene Brady  (Riverstown) 22-7

54kg Christine Gargan (St Georges) beat  Lycia Heneghan(Ballinrobe) 9-9 c/b 27-24

56kg Christopher Nevin (Holy Family  Drogheda ) beat Joe Fitzpatrick (Immaculata) 17-12

60kg Kayleigh Murrihy (Kilfernora) beat  Antoinette Keane (Ennis) 14-11

60kg Hugh Nevin (Cavan) beat Dylan Carr  (Ryston) 9-7

64kg Katie Hyland (St Annes) beat Shauna  Flynn (Inniskeen) 15-14

64kg David Roche (Riverstown) beat Thomas  Waite (Holy Trinity) 12-5

69kg Aoife Henneghan (Swinford) W/O

69kg Stephen Mulholland (St Malachys) beat  John Harty (Rathkeale) 23-21

75kg Anthony Coyle (Geesala) beat Patrick  Ward (Gurteen) 9-7

75kg Rachel Lally (Golden Gloves) beat  Robin Smith (South Meath) 17-17 c/b 58-48

81kg Kathy Higgins (Ardnaree) W/O

81kg George Boylan (Drimnagh) beat Patrick  McDonagh (Dunafanghy) RSC2

91kg Thomas Carthy (Corinthians) beat  Stephen Stokes (Twin Towns) 14-10

91+kg James Barrett (St Michaels Galway) v  Thomas Conroy (Boyle) (deferred)