Seán McCusker, Grace Conway and John Donoghue all claimed silver medals at the European Under-19 Boxing Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
McCusker and Conway were both on the wrong side of split decisions in their finals, while Donoghue could not compete in her final after withdrawing from the tournament.
McCusker, from Dealgan BC in Dundalk, came up just short in the 60kg final against Georgia’s Luka Chkhikvadze.
McCusker came out on the front foot, applying pressure to the Georgian fighter from the first bell and landing hooks at close range, although Chkhikvadze was boxing well on the back foot.
The Louth fighter did a better job of forcing his opponent on to the ropes in the second round, pinning Chkhikvadze into the corner on multiple occasions and scoring well with hooks.
McCusker had success with the left hook throughout the fight, closing in on his opponent, but his aggressive style got him into difficulty in the final round, as the referee deducted a point after a clash of heads.
That deduction proved to be vital, as Chkhikvadze was crowned the champion on a split decision.
Conway also suffered a split decision loss in her 57kg final against Lianne Wise, after an exciting and competitive fight.
All three rounds were even in the contest as both boxers were slightly cagey in the early going, bouncing in and out of range and exchanging jabs and crosses.
The second round was a more intense affair, as Conway started to press her opponent backwards and land with strafing lefts.
The third round started well for the Irish fighter, who landed a textbook left straight seconds after the bell sounded, but the fight remained close down the stretch, and Wise did enough to earn the victory.
Meanwhile, Donoghue, who was scheduled to fight in the 65kg final, withdrew from the competition following his disqualification victory in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
Donoghue was knocked down heavily by his Greek opponent Emmanouil Fotiadis in the opening round of their contest. The referee ultimately decided that the blow landed illegally on the back of Donoghue’s head.
Following the bout, the Irish Athletic Boxing Association stated that he would not be contesting the final: “The team leadership, in consultation with John, his club and his family, have decided to withdraw him from tomorrow’s finals to safeguard his wellbeing and his future career.”
Donoghue, a former world junior champion, claimed a silver medal, while Nessa Tabachuk and Kayleigh Byrne’s bronze medals brought Ireland’s final haul to five.
