Holy Trinity boxing club has further cause for celebration in this their 50th anniversary year.
In the club’s formative years in the 1970’s, their young boxers captured the Best Club award at the Ulster Championships held in the King George VI Hall (now demolished) in May Street in central Belfast.
And still today, almost 50 years on from that ground-breaking Higginson Cup best club success, the honours keep rolling off the Trinity production line.
The Turf Lodge club has just landed no less than 8 Ulster titles and the Best Club of the Championships, their boxers fighting off stiff opposition to finish top team after an intensive fortnight of competition at the Corpus Christi gym.
Ulster champions Aleesha Deronja, Gerard Flynn, Johnny Doherty, Jude Molyneaux, Conal Burns, Logan Rice, Kyle Smith and Summer Fleming were warmly welcomed back by their coaches and clubmates to their Norglen Gardens base on Monday night.
The club finished with eight gold and two silver over the past two weekends. Unfortunately, Mark Dawson had to withdraw from his final through injury.
"I'd like to express a special word of thanks to the coaches who are mostly also parents of the kids in the club," said club coach Michael Hawkins.
"Their work has helped keep the standards high in the club. With our club membership as high as it is, it's important we get all the help we can and all of the parents of the champions are either coaching or working in the club. That keeps the club consistently in the limelight.
"We'd also like to mention Tommy Fleming who has taken on our strength and conditioning this season. He has been working with the entire team three nights per week and his work with the boxers has been invaluable."
