Sensational success for St Brigid's Boxing Club

St Brigid’s Boxing Club, based in Kildare Town, is currently experiencing a period of almost unprecedented success. Under the leadership of Founder and Head Coach Paddy Phelan, St Brigid’s are dominating boxing in Kildare and Leinster, with three National Titles the highlight of a sensational season.

In March, 16-year-old Michael Connors walked out of the National Stadium in Dublin as the All-Ireland 98kg Junior Champion, beating Sean Lee of St Matthews BC, stopping his Dublin opponent just one minute into the first round after landing a series of clean, heavy punches.

The win makes Connors a back-to-back National Champion, retaining the title he won in 2025 when he beat Dan Moran of Charlestown BC, Mayo, also with a hugely impressive first-round stoppage.

“Michael was out with an injury for the last 12 months, but because he was last year's National Champion, he had the chance of going back in and defend his title. He said he’d be ready, so we got him ready for it; and he stopped his opponent in the first round,” a proud Paddy Phelan told The Kildare Nationalist.

Connors, originally from Kilcullen but now living in Lucan, is a boxer with a very bright future ahead of him; and at just 16 years of age, his 98kg weight class puts him among the land of the giants in boxing terms.

Earlier this month then, St Brigid’s claimed another pair of National titles courtesy of two remarkable young boxers, as 12-year-old Ivy Hannon and 11-year-old Joseph Sweeney each left the National Stadium as All-Ireland Champions.

Monasterevin boxer, Ivy Hannon dominated the 66kg final, beating Claire Walsh of St Nicholas BC, Tipperary, winning all five rounds on her way to the title.

“Ivy only started with us four or five months ago,” Phelan explained. “But the minute I saw her, I swear to God, I said to them all, ‘I guarantee you, she'll win an Irish title.’ And there you go, she was phenomenal.” Joseph Sweeney, a native of Kildare town, also won all five rounds against Muhammad Hussain of Ballaghaderreen BC, Roscommon, on his way to winning the 25kg title.

“He's very young, but he's so dedicated to the sport, he really is. He's out running all the time, training - very dedicated to the sport; and only started with us probably two years ago,” Phelan said.

“The future is very bright for those kids (Hannon and Sweeney) – and a lot of other kids as well; the opportunity just never arrived this year for them, you know. But next season, these kids are going to improve again.” 

Three National Titles is the culmination of an incredibly successful season that also included six Leinster Championships won by Hannon, Sweeney, Billy Bennett Cullen, Peter Clifford, Anthony O’Donoghue and Pat Phelan, as well as an eye-watering 18 Kildare Championships. The club’s domination continued at the annual Michael Andrews Memorial tournament, winning eight titles at the prestigious event.

One recent graduate of St Brigid’s BC is unbeaten profession boxer Sarah Murphy. The 19-year-old turned pro in 2025, beating Kerry Orton in October and Katherine Quintana in February before claiming her third straight victory earlier this month with an impressive outing against Joanna Fraszczak.

But the past year has not been all smiles and sunshine for the Kildare club, with serious dedication and determination needed to overcome the extremely challenging obstacles thrown in their way.

“We have 160 kids here in St Brigid’s and we were about eight months without any club – we’d no roof on it like - with that storm that hit last year, we had no equipment; we lost everything,” Phelan said.

“It was like a full-time job, going down every evening, trying to dry a bit of floor, trying to get to so many kids, trying to give them all a bit of time and attention, but that's the way it was.

“And last year, you know, it was a horrible, horrible wet year. What we done is we had 68 buckets around the club, catching some of the water. We had a marquee that Susanne Doyle organised for us, that went over the ring. And we had lumps of sheet and plastic - it was like little bus shelters all over the club. That's how we trained.

“I tell you, it was the hardest time. If that didn't push anyone over the edge, I don't know what would. That was the hardest year I've ever put into it, you know.” St Brigid’s brought the curtain down on their whirlwind 2025/26 season by hosting an invitational tournament, with boxers from ten clubs competing in a total of 45 bouts, followed by an end-of-season awards presentation.