DUNFANAGHY ABC’S Bernie McDonagh won his first national title last night.
In the Boy 1 36kgs final, McDonagh overcame Castlebar’s Jake Daly at The National Stadium.
McDonagh had the edge early in the bout and was shading a tricky contest before he found his range better in the third stanza.
McDonagh made no mistake with his last round, although the ringside judges were split on the verdict.
McDonagh took a 2-1 decision to scoop Dunfanaghy ABC’s first Irish title since his father, Martin, won an Irish Intermediate title five years ago.
McDonagh had boxed superbly all week. In his quarter-final, he stopped All Saints Belfast man Joshua Watson in the third round.
He was a convincing winner in the semi-final when he defeated Brian Wright from St Paul’s in Waterford 3-0.
He took that form into the final last night, where he took the prize, much to the delight of coaches Eddie and Joe Harkin.
Today, Letterkenny’s Paddy McShane (Boy 3 36kgs) goes in search of glory following a 2-1 semi-final win over Jonathan O’Donnell (St Bridget’s), while Letterkenny’s Dylan Browne-McMonagle is in the Boy 2 33kgs final after he overcame Charlie Whelan (Crumlin) and William O’Reilly (St Francis).
Dungloe’s Pauric O’Donnell will be in the Boy 2 57kgs decier thanks to his semi-final win over Jack Burke (St Brigid’s Kildare), which came after a quarter-final success against Jack Connolly (Clonmel).
Dungloe’s Adam Boyle (Boy 1 46kgs) bowed out at the semi-final stage after losing out to Nikita Bonoverev (St Michaels Athy). Boyle had beaten Michael Stokes of Darndale (TKO 1) in his quarter-final.
There was also semi-final disappointment for Dungloe’s Oisin Wallace and Dunfanagh’s Odhrán Doogan.
Wallace lost to James Whelan (Docklands) 2-1 at Boy 2 46kgs while Doogan was edged 2-1 by Jack Geoghegan (Olympic) in a Boy 2 44kgs semi.
Dunfanaghy’s Odhrán McGinley lost 3-0 to Dylan Twoey (Ballaghadareen) in a Boy 2 48kgs quarter-final, while Liam McMonagle of Raphoe was beaten 3-0 by Francis Maughan (St Mary’s) in a Boy 3 quarter-final at 50kgs.
There was disappointment, too, for Aodhán Byrne, boxing out of Kilcullen, County Kildare, whose mother, Sinead, hails from Ballybofey. Leinster champion Byrne was pipped 2-1 by Jon McConnell from Townland.
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