Mangan making major progress among amateur boxing's elite

23-year-old Belclare native is National Intermediate champion

THOUGH traditionally a male-dominated pursuit, the profile of women's boxing has skyrocketed in Ireland over the past decade and-a-half to the point where it will dominate the sports news cycle in the weeks ahead.

The final fight of Katie Taylor's illustrious career against unbeaten Flora Pili from France will take place at a sold-out Croke Park early next month. It has the potential to be the crowning glory for the Bray native and comes 14 years after she became the first female boxer from this country to qualify for the Olympics.

Many have carried that torch with great distinction in the intervening years with Kellie Harrington and the O'Rourke sisters, Lisa and Aoife, amongst others now household names after enjoying success on a grand scale at both European and World level.

Closer to home, Keelyn Mangan is among the cohort of rising stars in the sport and after winning a National Intermediate title late last year has graduated to competing at Elite level where the country's premier amateur boxers ply their trade.

Hailing from Newgardens in Belclare, she turned 23 at the end of June and her long-term goal is to earn a place in Irish Boxing’s High Performance programme where the country's top talent hone and develop their skills.

Daughter of Jarlath and Angelina Mangan, Keelyn is the youngest of three children.

"Mum's from Ballina, and dad's from Glenmore, Crossmolina," she told Herald Sport.

"We’ve been enjoying the celebrations after Mayo ended their 75-year wait for an All-Ireland title. My dad and I managed to get tickets at the last minute and headed to Croke Park. The atmosphere was electric and it’s a day we’ll truly never forget. As all of my relatives are from Mayo, it was a huge moment for our entire family, and being there together to witness such a historic occasion made it even more special."

She attended Belclare National School and Presentation College, Currylea and recently completed her fourth and final year studying Business, majoring in HR and minoring in work psychology, at the University of Limerick. A Masters in Business Analytics is next on the agenda in September at ATU Galway where she has been awarded a Bronze Sports Scholarship.

So how did she first get into the sport in 2016? Keelyn gives the background.

"Arron's is the oldest, Ryan would be in the middle, and then I'm the baby. So ten years between me and Arron, eight years between me and Ryan. They're both living abroad. Arron's based in Sydney and been there nearly six years now working in construction. Ryan studied medicine in Tbilisi, Georgia and is now a doctor.

"Whenever Arron left, I kind of made that thing in my mind as a kid. It was like, I have to win an All-Ireland. I have to win an All-Ireland because I'd love him to come back. It meant so much to me. Boxing is such a big thing for the two of us. I'd love to say I won that because he didn't get a chance to.

"I've been boxing for the last seven years. When I got into it, I wanted to copy Arron. So he would be getting ready and going off to training and I'd be like, 'Where are you going?' He'd just be back from college or work and he'd be like ready to go again. And over time it was like, 'I want to go to training with you'. It was kind of a sense of bonding too.

"I started going to training with him, started off in Joe Newell's place. He's from Caherlistrane originally and had a gym in Tuam. Joe used to run boxing and kickboxing sessions. So I used to do it there first for fitness. My brother went on to Corrib Boxing Gym in Galway run by Sean Cumiskey.

"So Arron was getting a few fights at that stage and then I got an exhibition. Arron used to drive me up there for half five for the kids session and then I used to wait in the car then and he'd go in after for his session. But then we started going to the same sessions together. Sean closed that gym and then we both moved over to Pawel Popko's Celtic Eagles gym in Briarhill Business Park.

"One thing about boxing is you'd think it's such an individual sport and it's only you in the ring. But it feels like such a family, and it feels like we have such a bond in that gym that we all push each other on so, so much. Supporting ringside or in the gym or during spars. We all really gel together so well. There's two in my gym now that are up in the high performance - Nessa Tabachuk and Robbie Olusola.

"So I've been in there now the last six years and it's been going really well. Pawel is just the best coach. He cares about everyone individually and he just puts so much time into helping us grow and helping us adapt and gain the technical aspects of the game and how to read the game."

Keelyn played football for Corofin and more so camogie with Sylane, though her boxing commitments meant the small ball had to take a back seat for the foreseeable.

"I found that being involved in a team sport with Sylane, I loved it. I loved how everyone could work together and push along together. Like in 2024, we won our county final for Junior C and we went on to Junior B. And as a team, it just felt like all the hard work had paid off.

"I found that they really coincided with each other. The running aspect of camogie really helped with the boxing. But still, at the end of the day, it's like completely different fitness is needed for both.

"In 2024, I was trying to give 100 per cent to both. And I was only burning myself out because in boxing, it's three three-minute rounds in the ring. So, it's like speed, speed, speed. And then camogie, it's 60 minutes, so it's like sometimes you can afford to stop and not have to do those sprint intervals. If I was to go back to camogie now, I'd probably be no good fitness-wise. It's different. I found it really tough at that time trying to balance the two of them. Something had to give."

She fought in the Box Cups in Dungarvan in 2022, '23 and '24 and built experience and confidence along the way, losing in the first two years before winning it in her third attempt.

Her busy schedule over the past year or more has included taking in travelling with her coach Pawel, who hails from Poland, to compete in the Polish Liga which offers high standard boxing. Her graph has been on a steady upward trajectory in that time.

"We would have done the Neilstown Box Cup [in Dublin] in May last year, I was against a girl who was on the Irish team in the youths and she was very highly regarded and I actually ended up beating her. That was the first fight where I went in with the mindset of, I'm just going to go in there and actually just go with the flow and stay calm. It was a bit of a boost because it was like, if you can control your emotions in the ring and your mindset, then you can do it.

"After that, I went to the Emerald Box Cup in Tallaght in August time and I was against a girl called Kelly McLaughlin who won the Elites in 2024 at under 60 kilos. Kelly Harrington [double Olympic gold medallist] had taken a break that year. So, Kelly McLaughlin went on to win it. I've actually fought Kelly McLaughlin twice. But from the first year I fought her in 2024 till when I fought her in 2025 in August, there was a big difference in my ability. I could see the progress in myself.

"Even though I lost both times, it was good to see if you stay committed, if you stay persistent, how you can actually see a difference in your ability in the ring. And having a positive outlook on a loss isn't necessarily a negative thing. You can learn from it and even if it's just small things you take from the losses, if you keep them in your mind going forward, you can actually really improve your ability in the ring like that."

Keelyn enjoyed success as part of an Irish select team that went to Derby for a competition sponsored by the World Boxing Confederation. She travelled to Copenhagen to box after that and went on to the Manchester Box Cup. Balancing those trips alongside her studies in UL was a juggle.

"I really had to structure my time well. I wasn't living down in Limerick, so I was commuting up and down nearly four days a week. I'd plan my day so I could go down early, go to whatever classes or lectures and on the way home, then I popped into the gym."

Keelyn namechecks HQ Gym, McTigue Quarries (Gary McTigue), Roots Café and MH Hardware (Joe Mitchell) as sponsors.

"I had help from Sharon Conneely Gannon in HQ Gym. She helped me structure nutrition plans for when I'm on the go for college or meal plans to make lunches. She has been such a big help for me. She helped me enormously with my nutrition, and I’m very grateful for all of her support.

"Eating well too, it really helps with your concentration. So with college then it was, you know, eating the right foods. I felt better in college and I was able to obtain more information and stuff."

The road to success reached a high point when winning the National Intermediate title at the end of November 2025.

"I won my semi-final in the Intermediate All-Irelands went on to win the final and I got my Irish title then [at 60kg]. That was my biggest achievement so far.

"You have to win that first before you go into Elites. Otherwise, if you bypass the Intermediates and go to Elites, you can never come back down. It was always the game plan to win Intermediate first. I wanted to do it the proper way, the proper structure."

Keelyn competed in her first Elite Championships in January and the experience increased her desire to develop and continue finding improvement.

"The consistency of keeping fitness levels up through sprints on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, along with pad sessions with Pawel throughout the period, discipline with nutrition, and recognising the standard required to compete at that level and at a lower weight category of 57kg.

"Having my mum, dad and uncle there to support me meant the world to me. It was an amazing experience to compete in the same championship as Olympians and some of the best boxers in the country. Being part of that environment really highlighted the level required and gave me even more motivation going forward to compete at the highest standard.

"The lady I was boxing, Sarah Cunningham, was 38 years of age and had came over from New York City. She had been boxing for years and years. She had done a tournament in Madison Square Garden and everything. She had a longer length of time and experience in boxing than I had, and she was very, very fit. I really used that to kind of push me on a bit more."

With valuable lessons banked at the highest level of amateur boxing in Ireland, what's next for Keelyn Mangan?

"My goal now is to get that foot in the door of the high performance gym. To get them to give me a chance to get up there would mean the absolute world to me. I'm seeing so many other girls get invited in for spars with the top calibre of female boxers. That's where I want to be.

"If you asked me a year ago that wouldn't have been my short-term goal, because my short-term goal was to win the All-Ireland.

"I know myself that I'm really hard-working, driven. I wouldn't let a setback get to me, I just keep pushing forward and just learn from any mistakes.

"I'd love to see where it could get me. If I could represent Ireland even better. That would be my goal. If I could get up there and for them to give me a chance and to see what I'm like out abroad. It would be the best."

* Keelyn is currently training for the Longford Marathon on August 30 in aid of Beyond Surviving, a survivor-led charity founded by her cousin, Ciara Mangan, which supports survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. To support, visit the iDonate link:

https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/beyondsurviving1