NEWLY-CROWNED European U22 champion Louis Rooney has his sights set on a spot in the Irish senior squad, after bring home gold from Bulgaria on Sunday.
The Star light-fly followed Lisa O’Rourke onto the top of the podium, after she claimed the light-middleweight crown on Saturday, with Patsy Joyce joining the gold rush by going all the way at 54kg.
And there was further cause for Ulster celebration as Oakleaf’s classy Carleigh Irving claimed light-fly silver, with Holy Trinity flyweight Clepson dos Santos landing bronze.
Bobbi Flood, Robin Kelly and super-heavy Martin McDonagh also brought home bronze from Sofia, making it a tournament to remember for Ireland.
Irving won’t forget it in a hurry either, as this was the first tournament in Europe contested without headguards for women – the Irish Athletic Boxing Association only informed of that by the International Boxing Association days before competition began.
The Derry woman was sporting the scars of battle afterwards, but showed the potential she possesses at this level with impressive performances on the way to the podium.
Making his international debut, Rooney did likewise – and there was a welcoming party for the whole team waiting at Dublin airport on Monday afternoon, before Rooney was whisked back to the north Belfast club to carry on the celebrations.
The 19-year-old comes from serious fighting stock, as the son of another Star legend, Jimbo Rooney – a four-time Irish champion in his pomp – and cousin of JP Hale, who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and has already picked up four Ulster titles and an Irish elite crown.
There were times in the past when those bloodlines may have weighed heavily on his shoulders but, speaking from Sofia, Rooney – who beat Azerbaijan’s Tural Sariyev in the final - admitted he was finally starting to fully believe in himself.
“I’m buzzing, honestly.
“In the past I would’ve doubted myself a bit, or not that had the confidence you need… maybe because by big cousin John Paul and all he’s done, then my dad as well. Maybe I felt that pressure a bit before, I don’t know.
“But I really felt confident this time. Coming out here I thought I could get a medal, then as soon as I beat the Hungarian I just thought ‘I’m going for gold’.
“I knew I was capable of that, and I showed in all my fights, including the final. I performed really well all the way through… it was just meant to be, and I’m delighted.”
Rooney was quick to pay tribute to the coaching crew at Star after the biggest moment of his boxing career, and is determined to continue laying down a marker – starting at next month’s Irish elite championships.
“The likes of Liam [Corr], Barry [McMahon] have been there since I started boxing and, to be honest, I would be nothing without them. They put a lot of work into me.
“It’s a bit like history repeating itself because Liam’s dad, Mickey, was the man in the corner when my dad was boxing, and now his son’s there working with me. It’s class.
“I just want to kick on from here; I’m not going to be sitting thinking this is the be all and end all or anything, because the Irish elites are coming up – it’ll be my first time boxing in them, so hopefully I can carry the good form on, because I want to get into the Irish squad now.
“I think they have to give me a chance now.”
Considering his first senior fight only came at January’s Ulster elites, it has been a big year for Rooney already.
And it will have done his international ambitions no harm to have performed so impressively with the eyes of Irish head coach Zaur Antia watching.
“Results here show the great depth of talent among boxers in Ireland,” said the Georgian, who attended the tournament in a coach mentor capacity.
“Every member of the team has performed exceptionally well, and each team member contributed to this high number of medals.”
Before leaving for Bulgaria, the team had been in training at the High Performance unit since August.
During their preparation block, and with the support of Sport Ireland and SportNI sport science practitioners, they received workshops on nutrition, focusing on loading, recovery and weight management.
The team has received two sport psychology workshops, learning in physiology, and took part in a sparring camp with Italy hosted by the Ulster High Performance.
And all of factors contributed to an impressive tournament performance, according to U22 team head coach Eoin Pluck.
“This record-breaking result is testament to the individual and collective commitment to training and development, and readiness to learn and adapt shown by every member of this team,” he said.
“It’s a great honour to contest for your country, and I’d like to congratulate each boxer, their clubs, club coaches and their families on remarkable achievements in this tournament.”
EMERGING TALENT GEAR UP FOR HALOWEEN BOX CUP
ULSTER’S up-and-coming boxers will have the opportunity to showcase their talents at Halloween Box Cup.
Taking place at Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast, weigh-ins are from 7.30am-9.30am on Saturday, with boxing beginning at 12pm. On Sunday and Monday, the action gets under way at 11am, with boy and girl 1, junior cadet, senior cadet and youth titles up for grabs.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympian Michaela Walsh is part of a strong Ulster High Performance team that will travel to Italy on Thursday for a five-day sparring camp.
The experienced Holy Family featherweight is joined by European silver medallist Caitlin Fryers (Immaculata), Star’s JP Hale, who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Aoife Dougan (Armagh), Donagh Keary (Rathfriland), Anthony Malanaphy (Erne), Matthew McCole (Illies), Jon McConnell (Holy Trinity) and Ormeau Road’s Anthony Taggart.
Toome’s Damian Kennedy travels as head coach, alongside another two-time Olympian – Brendan Irvine – and Kilkeel’s Matthew Toner. Stephen Floyd is team manager/nutritionist, with Michael Quinn physio.
