Orla boxes clever to claim a second national crown

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

Just two years after taking up boxing, 27-years-old Monivea BC fighter Orla McInerney – who won an Irish intermediate crown at the televised finals from the National Stadium last Friday evening –has accomplished the remarkable feat of claiming two national titles in 2014.

In what was a great night for Galway boxing, with four of the five in action winning titles, McInerney began proceedings with a comprehensive victory over Emma Gallagher of Corpus Christy BC in Limerick in the decider – the referee stopping the bout in the third round after McInerney forced her opponent to take two counts.

In such a short period of time, the Knockatogher, Kiltullagh native has certainly come a long way, winning the All-Ireland Novice title at 57kg earlier this year before stepping up a grade and down a weight to 54kg to impressively double her title haul with Friday’s night triumph.

Her first experience of the sport was just over two years ago when Gerry Cronnelly of Target Fitness (Athenry), who had been doing core work with McInerney and her Killimordaly camogie team-mates, asked her to go three rounds with him for a Fight4Life ‘boxathon’ fundraiser in aid of cancer.

“My dad (Michael) had passed away from cancer eight years ago so I said to myself it would be nice to do something for the cause. That was one of the main reasons I went into the ring with him. After that, he asked me would I be interested in going down to train in Monivea and I never looked back after that.

“That was two years ago now,” continues McInerney. “I loved the whole fitness aspect of it and training to me is almost like a night out to someone else. I would be up at 6am training with Gerry. You then would go to work and afterwards, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I would head to Monivea for two more hours. It is just something I love doing.”

That quickly and evidently stands out as McInerney, a Montessori teacher in Athenry, details her training regime which for six weeks last year included spending some time with the High Performance team and multiple World Champion, Katie Taylor.

“Katie Taylor is a big inspiration to me,” she says. “I have seen her training and I have met her and she is one of those girls who is very focused on what she wants to achieve. I suppose, I am a bit like her in that way. I am very focused on what I would like to do in the sport. That was a real boost to me.”

At any rate, with Cronnelly directing her core exercises and her coach Gus Farrell working the pads and imparting to her the different techniques, skills and combinations required to thrive in the ring, McInerney began to look to competition and, in particular, the Irish Novice Championship.

“I was a bit fearful at the start but when I had so much training done and actually saw what it was about, I didn’t feel as nervous about it then. That said, achieving what I have achieved in the year, it took hard work and dedication but I really enjoyed it. It was never a task to go training and get the work done.”

Consequently, she reaped the rewards but she confides when she set out on her journeys in the Novice and Intermediate championships, the objective was never to win them. It was just to compete, particularly in the Intermediate where she was dropping down from 57kg to 54kg.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.