Leah Gallen’s eyes lit up when Michael Carruth pulled back the lid of the black presentation box and his Olympic Gold medal came into view.
Carrurth was in Raphoe on Saturday night for Raphoe ABC’s 30th anniversary tournament and the Irish boxing icon shared a special moment with Gallen.
In 2018, Gallen has won two Irish titles and recently collected bronze at the European Junior Championships in Russia.
Carruth won Olympic Gold in 1992, beating Cuba’s Juan Hernández Sierra in Barcelona. It was the first Gold won by an Irish boxer at the Olympics.
“Hold onto it and make a wish,” Carruth told Gallen, who has won three Irish titles in her young career so far.
Carruth had a handful of his boxers from Drimnagh ABC, where he is now the head coach, on Saturday evening’s show at Deele College. Carruth had already been aware of Gallen’s talents. In the Irish Cadet semi-final, Gallen overcame Drimnagh boxer Abi Sutton at the Ringside Club.
