New home for boxing club
CASTLEBAR Boxing Club will be moving to Lough Lannagh in an agreement reached with Mayo County Council today.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was delighted to hear that an agreement has been reached, which will see the club move to the gym building at Lough Lannagh.
The move will see the club, which was founded in 1932, vacate its current premises at The Mall. The new facility will allow the boxing club to grow and in conjunction with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) to use the site as a regional centre of excellence in order to organise both national and international training camps in Castlebar.
The new home for Castlebar Boxing Club, which will be leased for an initial period of 20 years, will be in close proximity to other sporting facilities including Castlebar Tennis Club and the new swimming pool complex and state-of-the-art outdoor pursuits academy. These facilities, along with Lough Lannagh Village, will provide further opportunities to develop the town as a sports hub in the west of Ireland.
Said Deputy Kenny: “I have been working closely with Castlebar Boxing Club on this issue for a number of years and I was happy to facilitate a visit to Castlebar by (now former) Irish national boxing coach Billy Walsh and officials from the IABA.
“More recently, in January, I was happy to meet with officials from Lough Lannagh Holiday Village, the IABA and Castlebar Boxing Club along with Minister of State for Transport, Tourism and Sport Patrick O'Donovan to discuss the plans for a move to a more suitable site.
“On a personal level, I would like to wish the committee, coaches and boxers the very best of success in their new home.”