Golden Girls – D’Arcy and Tinnelly join Prominent List of Euro Youth Champions

Cliona D’Arcy and Dearbhla Tinelly’s European Youth gold medal-winning antics mean Ireland can boast as many female champions as males in the prestigious tournament.

Irish men have been fighting for medals in the competition since 1978 and after Bobbi Flood was crowned 2022 Euro Youth (U18) Champion on Friday can now lay claim to FIVE gold medallists.

The competition has only been open to women since 2008 but thanks to two female gold medal wins on Thursday last as many women as men can now show off Under-18 gold.

D’Arcy 81kg and Tinnelly 81+kg join Niamh Fay, Daina Moorehouse, and Amy Broadhurst on the list of Irish female European Youth Championship gold medal winners.

Not surprisingly Dundalk’s Broadhurst was the first female to win gold at the age-grade. A fighter, who has the complete set of underage golds, having stood on top of junior, youth and Under-22 podiums, won Euro Youth gold at the second time of asking.

Having been denied in controversial circumstances in Italy in 2014, Broadhurst became a three-time European Champion in 2015.

The southpaw won featherweight gold in Keszthely after beating Italy’s Francesca Matussciello on a majority decision in the final.

“It was all worth it, European champion for the third time, went through so much over the last eight weeks,” she said after.

Three years later and another serial European champion was impressing her way to the top of the continental podium.

Bray’s Daina Moorehouse added to her collection winning gold in Italy in 2018.

Having won European Junior gold the previous year, Moorehouse became a double continental queen following a flawless week in Roseto culminating in a dominant win over Russian Ksenia Beschastnova in the final.

A bronze at Youth level followed in 2019 and Moorehouse has since become a two-weight Irish Elite champion.

The most recent to prove herself the best at the weight at that age-grade in Europe was recent Under-22 European gold medal winner Niamh Fay.

The odd socks wearer doesn’t like odd coloured medals and has a thing for just gold. Fay, whose brother John is a European bronze medal winner overcame Croatia’s Nikolina Cacic to take the 54kg title in Bulgaria.

En route to the final, she beat Italian Sharon Prisco, Turkish champion Gudagi Aycan and Bianca Cabzaru of Romania. Like Broadhurst and Moorehouse, The Ballyboughal fighter is now seen as a senior operator of note and an Olympic hopeful.