First senior boxing title for Ballynacargy’s Robyn Kelly

Talented Ballynacargy boxer Robyn Kelly secured her eighth Irish title when she captured the national senior 54kg title at the National Boxing Stadium on October 22. Robyn forced her opponent Sophie Attalah into two standing counts before claiming victory.

Significantly, it was Robyn’s first senior title and at the age of 18, it represents an outstanding achievement for the Ballynacargy Boxing Club member. Her older brother Wayne has been a huge influence on her boxing career and with eight titles, Robyn is closing in on her sibling’s fine record of 11 Irish titles.

“It feels great to win. It was a very tough contest; she was a very strong opponent, she kept coming forward. I kept it long and was clever; I did what was required to great the victory. It’s great,” she said.

“This is my first senior title and it means a lot. To win it at 18 is fantastic.”

Robyn will now turn her attentions to the European U22 Championships (57kg category) in Montenegro which runs from November 10 – November 20.

“It’s an exciting time for me and I have a number of busy weeks ahead. I’ll just focus on training hard and preparing as best I can. There will be no breaks. We are flying out on November 9 and we have three or four days with the high-performance team before that to get us ready,” she revealed.

“My target is a medal: I have two European bronze medals already at school girl and junior levels.

“I’m only 18 and am still very young to be competing at adult level. My opponent was 26 and you could feel the difference in strength and power. Physically, she was very strong. I have been working very hard on strength and conditioning, and sparring, going up against older opponents in training. It has helped me get good preparation in,” she said.

Robyn’s father, Camillus Kelly is one of her coaches at the Ballynacargy Boxing Club and he is thrilled at the latest success at such a young age.

“Robyn prepared very well; she is such a strong boxer having worked so hard on her strength and conditioning, and sparring. It really stood to her in the final,” he remarked.

After such a fine display, it was not an easy decision to opt for the European Championships over the national Elite Championships at adult level. However, they are satisfied that Robyn is competing at her own age level.

“There will be many years to go for the Elite Championships, so while we had a difficult decision to make, the European Championships were the obvious route for Robyn to take,” remarked Camillus.

He credits Liam Morley Brereton in Edenderry with giving Robyn the extra edge in sparring.

“It has helped Robyn get much stronger and she is now used to going up against the older girls. She has developed strength and power which are vital in the sport,” he said.

Both Robyn and Wayne were in Poland recently for their first elite tournament with the Irish team and it was a fine achievement to have two family members on the national side.

“They have been working a lot together and Robyn has learned so much from that,” remarked Camillus.

Meanwhile, Wayne will be taking on the best in Ireland once again at the upcoming Elite Championships (71kg) and he will be hoping to garner yet another Irish title. Victory will secure a place on the Irish team for the Olympic Games next year in France.