Hundreds toast legacy of ‘Mr Boxing’ at Peter O’Donnell Box Cup

Around 400 young boxers from Ireland and England - at schoolboys, schoolgirls, youth, junior and under-19 grades - weighed in for the inaugural tournament - on the weekend of the first anniversary of the passing of O’Donnell, Donegal’s ‘Mr Boxing’, on October 19, 2025 after a

short illness.

A total of 78 finals and another 14 skills bouts, for the budding young pugilists of the future, played out before a capacity crowd, including former world middleweight title challenger Jason Quigley, ex-pro Paddy Doherty, who fought on a Muhammad Ali undercard, and former Irish

super-heavyweight kingpin Eamon Coyle.

Former IABA President Dominic O’Rourke from Kildare made three glorious trophies for the occasion to honour his old boxing comrade and they were presented by members of the O’Donnell clan.

Charlie Murray from the St John’s BC in Derry was named as the best male boxer. In a Boy 3 52kgs bout, Murray overcame Rogan Caldwell from Glengormley on a 2-1 split decision.

Banbridge BC’s Phoebe Clarke, who earned a unanimous decision win over Cassie Lynch from Illies Golden Gloves, was named as the best female boxer.

Banbridge BC were given the team of the tournament trophy having had 11 finalists. The Banbridge club had wins for Clarke, Frankie Mooney, Paige Nickels, Masie Traynor, Harrison Orr, Alex Prentice, Isaac Ireland while Caoimhe Smyth, Scott Watson, Decosta Gillen and

Michael Ward were in finals and left as runners-up.

Fittingly for the day that was in it, the Raphoe Boxing Club - the place O’Donnell had helped build, shape and develop - celebrated a winner and Tyler Keaveney’s win over Cormac Callaghan was one of the fights of the day. Keaveney was handed a unanimous decision from the judges and he certainly earned it after a barnburner against the Illies Golden Gloves man.

A couple of arrows through the gloves by Keaveney got him the nod with Callaghan playing his part in a bout that had those at ringside off their perches.

Martin Ward, a new recruit to Raphoe Boxing Club, took an excellent win over Ben McKeown of All Saints, the all-action Ward deservedly given a unanimous verdict, but there was a narrow split decision defeat for Oriana Pojawa against Katie McDonagh (Oakleaf).

Roisin Hegarty, the European U15 gold medal winner last year, defeated Paige McCallum from the Evolution BC in Carrickfergus.

Hegarty had a full complement of the cards after three rounds, the Twin Towns BC star showing her worth throughout.

The Loreto Secondary School student defeated Tetiana Zvenihorodska in the 63kgs final at the European U15 Championships in Montenegro last October and is a five-time Irish champion.

McCallum, an Irish finalist in 2026, was on the Bridges Beyond Boxing trip to the USA in August, and was a useful opponent as Hegarty, who bagged a Four Nations silver in June when fighting in Scotland, aims to get back to the top rungs again.

Ellis O’Donnell added her name to the history books this year when collecting her first Irish title, the Junior 57kgs crown. And O’Donnell, a relative newcomer to the squared circle, was impressive in her dispatch of Banbridge’s Dacosta Gillen. In the U17 60kgs bout, Dungloe BC

ace O’Donnell was given a unanimous decision by the judges.

Letterkenny BC’s Andrii Derkach blasted his way to win over Aleksei Bogdanenko (St John Bosco) in an all-Donegal super-heavyweight affair. Derkach had pocketed Junior 1 and U17 Irish titles last season and he claimed a UD win, while Adan Brown of Twin Towns saw off St John

Bosco’s Noah Gallagher in another fight bringing together a pair of Donegal boxers.

Twin Towns Boxing Club’s Aoife Gillespie, who was crowned the Irish Girl 2 43kgs champ earlier this year, earned a noteworthy win over Amy O’Shaughnessy from Rathnew BC. Gillespie forced a count and, ultimately, the referee waved the bout off in the third stanza in favour of the

Ballybofey girl.

Her club-mate Blake O’Carroll, however met a ferocious opponent in the form of Tiger Sexton from the Hoddesdon Boxing Academy in England. Sexton, an English junior champion last year, showed his worth as he forced a stoppage in the second round after clipping a powerful blow on O’Carroll in their U17 57kgs clash.

Before the first bell rang, acclaimed Tyrone singer and boxing official Cara McGillion sang Amhrán na bhFiann, while the Irish and Donegal flags were carried by Peter O’Donnell’s grandchildren Amber and Zoe.

The day began with an eye-catching display by Laurence O’Loughlin, the Galway Boxing Club man scoring a unanimous decision over Letterkenny BC’s rising ace Wacky Connors.

O’Loughlin managed to cut through Connors’ guard to claim victory.

There was an early win for the big home Clonmany crowd to cheer as Keelan Kearney – younger brother of Donegal’s newest professional Conan Kearney - landed an emphatic win over Caleb Wright from All Saints. Kearney, a multi nations gold medallist last year, was given

the nod by all three judges at ringside.

Another St Bridget’s Clonmany puncher, Shay Devlin, wasted no time in claiming victory in his 60kgs contest. The referee brought his bout with Churchlands Golden Gloves’ Antos Norzka to an end in the first round, Devlin firmly in command.

St Bridget’s boxer Rowen Doherty worked hard for a narrow 2-1 split decision verdict against Jamie Walsh of Ballybrack, while Colm Callaghan of Carndonagh took a clean sweep from the judges in a unanimous decision win over Charlie Barrett from Skerries in an U17 bout at light-

middleweight.

Dunfanaghy Boxing Club’s Tiernan McGinley got the better of Eagle BC’s Malaki Jahn in a well-matched 50kgs fight. McGinley edged it when the sums were totted, taking a 2-1 split decision.

Eddie McBride of Dunfanaghy BC edged out Monivea’s Tommy O’Brien in a light-middleweight bout at the U17 grade. McBride and O’Brien each got a public warning, but McBride was on the right side of it at the final bell.

In a meeting of two previous Irish title winners, Convoy native Kerry Brown - boxing out of Dukes BC in Co Tyrone - was an impressive winner over Baldoyle’s Layla Kelly.

Last year, Brown won a Girl 2 60kgs title and has represented Ireland last year. Brown rocked Kelly with a vicious shot in the first round, the Dubliner counted by the referee. Kelly, an Irish junior champ in 2025, shook her head clear, but Brown had the victory well in her crosshairs and

was a fine winner.

St John Bosco BC’s Isla McShane, who was an Irish Girl 3 finalist this year, was involved in an entertaining scrap. McShane lost a split decision to Shaniece Robinson from the Oakleaf BC in Derry in what must have been a razor-thin verdict after a tough and tense three rounds.

“Today is about more than boxing,” County Donegal Boxing Board President James McCarron said. “It is about remembering a man who meant so much to our sport and to the people involved in it. Peter was a man whose contribution to boxing in Donegal will never be forgotten.

“He gave his time, his energy and his passion to the sport, and he helped build something that was much bigger than what happened inside the ring.

“He understood that boxing was about developing young people, teaching discipline, building confidence, showing respect and giving people a sense of belonging.

“That is the real legacy Peter leaves behind. One of the special things about Peter was the respect he earned throughout the boxing community. His name continues to mean something to the people who knew him. We remember not only what he did for boxing, but also the

commitment and character that made him such an important part of our community.”

On behalf of the O’Donnell family, Rory O’Donnell said if there was a Heaven on earth then “this would be it for my father”. He said: “Look at this, three rings and boys and girls just boxing and just getting on with it and coming out with a smile on their face.

“Win or lose, that was what he wanted to have and he just loved boxing.”

O’Donnell was a founder member of Raphoe Boxing Club in the late 1980s and was the President of the County Donegal Boxing Board from 2012 until his death. He also managed Irish international teams on several occasions and became the voice of Irish boxing as the ring announcer at the National Stadium.