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Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring has congratulated the Irish boxing team on their success at the European Senior Boxing Championships in Minsk, Belarus.

"On behalf of the Irish people I am delighted to congratulate the Irish boxing team and, in particular, John Joe Nevin and Jason Quigley who won gold medals and to Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlon on their silver medal success at the European Senior Boxing Championships.  The ten man squad did Ireland proud over the course of the competition. To have four Irish boxers, which is the highest representation of western Europe, in the semi-finals is an amazing achievement for a country with such a small population.

"I am delighted to congratulate all our boxers in Minsk. Great credit is also due to coaches Billy Walsh, Zaur Antia and Eddie Bolger, team manager Joe Hennigan, the whole support team and everybody else involved in the preparation of the Irish team for these Championships."

"This is a golden era for Irish Amateur Boxing. Irish boxers have maintained the remarkable sequence of winning medals at every international event entered since the World Senior Championships in 2007 and to win 2 gold and 2 silver medals in such a highly competitive European Championships is another wonderful achievement."

"Since 2003, funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport has enabled the Irish Amateur Boxing Association to put a high performance programme in place. This programme and the support of everyone involved have contributed significantly to dramatically improved performances and results for Ireland’s boxers."