Louth boxers Conway and McCusker win silver for Team Ireland

Team Ireland returned from the 2025 European Under-19 Boxing Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, with five medals in total to their name.

Three silver and two bronze marked one of Ireland’s best showings in recent years, and right at the heart of it were Louth’s Grace Conway and Seán McCusker, who battled their way to the finals only to lose out by the slimmest of margins.

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In the 60kg final, Seán McCusker of Dealgan BC showed why he’s regarded as one of Ireland’s most promising young boxers.

The Dundalk man came out firing against Georgia’s Luka Chkhikvadze as he pressed forward with a number of punishing hooks. However, the Georgian proved elusive on the counter.

McCusker’s pressure began to tell by the second round as he pinned Chkhikvadze to the ropes to force exchanges using his left hook as a constant weapon.

A clash of heads late in the final round led to a referee’s point deduction against McCusker in a decision that would ultimately swing the bout. When the judges’ scorecards were read, the Georgian was named champion on a 4–1 split decision.

The young Dundalk fighter had a string of victories over opponents from England, Estonia, and Finland enroute to the final.

In the women’s 57kg division, Louth's Grace Conway of Tredagh BC delivered a composed performance when fighting England’s Lianne Wise. The first round saw both boxers sizing each other up and darting in and out of range with sharp jabs.

Conway began to assert herself in the second round and pushed Wise back before landing clean lefts that had the English corner momentarily on edge.

Conway opened the third round with a textbook straight left that landed flush, but as the fight wore on, Wise managed to edge the exchanges in the closing seconds. The English fighter’s hand was raised when the judges delivered a close 3–2 split.

Elsewhere, 65kg John Donoghue was withdrawn from his final by the team’s leadership, in consultation with John, his club and his family for his welfare.

Ireland’s bronze medals came from Kayleigh Byrne and Nessa Tabachuk, both of whom impressed throughout their campaigns. In total, five medals secured a top-six finish out of 33 competing nations.

Team Ireland: 48kg Chloe Cox, Setanta BC, Co. Kildare; 50kg Kurt Kinsella, Monkstown BC, Dublin; 51kg Kayleigh Byrne, Gorey BC, Co. Wexford; 55kg Michael Reilly. St. Paul’s BC, Co. Waterford; 57kg Grace Conway, Tredagh BC, Co. Louth; 60kg Seán McCusker, Dealgan BC, Co. Louth; 65kg John Donoghue, Olympic BC, Co. Westmeath;70kg Katelyn Butler, St. Colman’s BC Co. Cork; 70kg Patrick Kelly, St. Abban’s/Kilmyshall BC Co. Wexford; 75kg Nessa Tabachuk, Celtic Eagles BC, Co. Galway; 75kg Jason Whelan, Dublin Docklands BC; 85kg Chulainn McDonnell, Whitechurch BC, Dublin; and 90kg Shay O’Dowd, Swords BC Dublin.

Team manager: Jennifer O’Sullivan, Sliabh Luachra BC, Kerry; Coaches: Liam Cunningham, Saints ABC, Belfast; Ralph McKay, St. Paul’s BC, Belfast; Aoife Hennigan. Swinford BC, Co. Mayo; and Garry Keogh, Marble City BC, Co. Kilkenny.