Club dreaming of Olympic glory

'If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough'. These words emblazoned on the wall of the Olympic Boxing Club in Columb Barracks, Mullingar, feed into a driven mentality.

Head coach Johnny Joyce has his sights firmly set on the ultimate prize, an Olympic medal, as he looks to guide a talented group of young Mullingar boxers through the next stages of their careers. Having competed at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, losing on a countback to the eventual Gold medallist Félix Díaz, he dreams of one of the current rising stars claiming the medal that narrowly eluded him.

“I already had my career, but there is a little bit of satisfaction seeing someone you've trained from a young age, someone you've brought through the highs and lows, achieve a medal. That's the ultimate aim. The wall of honour in the club is full. There's one wall empty and that's the Olympic wall. It would be great for the club,” he remarked.

John Donoghue, U19 champion in Montenegro, is one of the big hopes: “I believe John is the best in Ireland. He's going to be 18 years of age. We're going to be pushing for that Olympic spot with him and the other lads. With a bit of luck, if the draw goes our way,” observed Joyce.

The immediate challenge is the Irish Elite Championships in January, where four club boxers will compete. Jason Donoghue fights at 65kg, Patsy Joyce moves from 55kg to 60kg, Niamh Keogh competes at 54kg, while John Donoghue makes his senior Elite debut at 70kg. Patsy, last year's World bronze medallist, faces a tougher challenge after moving up a weight division.

“It's a bigger challenge. It's a tougher challenge. But if he believes in himself and he has really good preparation, he can cause problems,” opined Joyce.

“Niamh has had a brilliant year - national champion at U23. Going away to the Europeans. She's going to have a good camp in Uzbekistan. She's going to be knocking on the door as well,” he added.

The club's senior group will travel to Uzbekistan from December 7 to 18 for an intensive training camp, preparing for the Elites by sparring with some of the world's leading boxers.

“Uzbekistan, for the last two Olympics, they've been the best nation in the world. They won five out of seven weight classess in the last Olympics.

“We're heading out there to pick their brain,” he remarked.

Joyce knows what it takes to reach the Olympics, having competed himself and lost by a single point.

“I was there; I lost by a point. I'm chasing that medal that I left behind,” he quipped.

The Olympic qualification pathway is tough. There is no easy way. “We have to win the Elite to win the first qualifiers in Kazakhstan in March and April, and then the next one is the European Games in the summer. There will be two more after that,” Joyce explained.

Maintaining discipline and keeping his boxers grounded will be crucial as they progress: “They're outstanding. But at the same time, we have seen good kids like them disappear when they reach that age group. They get caught up with the hype; when they start to lose, they disappear. They start work, relationships, so on,” he observed.

“I tell him every day of the week they're not as good as I was. You have to keep them grounded,” he joked.

The club's recent World Championship success in Montenegro was another major achievement, with John Donoghue winning gold and Louise Joyce and Jason Donoghue securing bronze medals.

“John Donoghue is on top of the world right now; he's the world champion,” Joyce observed, “Louise and Jason, they're a year younger. In their own way, their medals were just as good as John's achievement.”

The coach was particularly pleased with the younger boxers' performances, having not necessarily expected them to return with medals.

“We weren't expecting any medals for Louise or Jason. Now, I know how good they were, and I knew there would be a good chance if the draw was good,” he observed.

John's natural ability and dedication have also impressed Joyce, although the expectations surrounding the young champion bring additional pressure.

“John's a natural talent and he is winning from a young age. He's just brought that right through. Everybody's expecting him to win nowadays, which creates a little bit more pressure on him,” he remarked.

The club's achievements extend beyond Montenegro, with Under-15 boxer Cian Leddy winning European bronze on his first appearance representing Ireland.

“Even young Cian Leddy, under 15s, European bronze medal. First time representing his country, coming back to the Europeans, under 15s. Unbelievable, a great achievement for him too,” Joyce remarked.

Olympic Boxing Club has secured 19 national titles in 2026 and 145 since opening 12 years ago, with six international medals won this year.

“Right now we have 19 national titles this year in 2026 and 145 in total since we opened 12 years ago. Six medals this year. Three European medals and three World medals. And we still have one boxer to go. Niamh Keogh heads away to the European Under-23s in three weeks' time. Great. It's booming right now,” he observed.

Despite the success, Joyce knows boxing demands enormous commitment and offers no guarantees.

“Boxing is a really hard sport. You have to put all the commitment in. One thing for sure is that if you don't put the commitment in, you're not going to win. But even if you put all that work in, it still doesn't guarantee you victory. It is a really tough sport. A lonely sport,” he remarked.

With the Uzbekistan camp approaching and the Elite Championships in January looming, Joyce and his boxers are already focused on the next challenge.

“First step is January in the Elites,” he noted.