Kilkenny boxing coach 'chuffed' with national call-up

A top Kilkenny boxing coach has been selected to lead an Irish team on the world stage.

Garry Kehoe, head coach at the Marble City Boxing Club, will travel as a coach with Team Ireland to the World Junior Championships, which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia this month.

The Kilkenny man travelled to the European Championships in Maribor, Slovenia in August and helped deliver Team Ireland’s best ever finish in the overall medals table, finishing as the third best team with three gold, one silver and seven bronze medals.

Speaking to Kilkenny Live, Kehoe commented: "It's something I'm fiercely proud of, I’m representing my club and Kilkenny on the national stage." 

"For someone from Kilkenny to be heading to the pinnacle of world sport, I’m just chuffed with that," Kehoe said.

Garry and the Kehoe family are held in high esteem both inside and outside the club, with Garry’s early days in the club spent under the guidance of his grandfather, Noel Kehoe snr (a Hall of Fame award recipient), his father Willie John and his uncle Ross Kehoe. That tradition, according to Garry, has been instrumental to this success story.

"I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for my own family,” he said. "My grandfather was 'Mr Boxing'. He was the one who got us all involved in the sport, while my father and uncle laid down the foundations. They were always very ambitious in what they wanted us to achieve and I think that passed on from my boxing to the coaching days. Without those people I don’t think it would be possible without them."

The announcement marks a significant moment for Kilkenny boxing, as the Marble City coach becomes the first Kilkenny man and youngest Irish coach (27) to ever be selected to represent Ireland at world level.

"As a kid it is something I dreamed of, getting to that level,” he said. “Representing Ireland isn’t something I thought about. The club always came first and without the club I wouldn’t be at that level at all. It’s fantastic to be on the world stage competing against the very best out there; it’s where you want to be, competing against the very best in the sport."

The local man’s recent experiences with the Irish team has also added an extra layer of experience to Kehoe’s career, a period he’s relishing.

"I love working with different coaches and learning from them," he said. "You’re learning from the best coaches in the country so you’re bound to pick up things."

Kehoe’s knowledge of the national boxers at his disposal is vast due to Marble City Boxing Club’s regular appearances in national competitions. Kehoe is only too aware of the help the club has given him from top to bottom and is confident he won’t be the final Kilkenny coach on the national stage.