A NORTH Belfast boxer has become a recipient of the Make It Happen Award courtesy of the Mary Peters Trust.
Louis Rooney is an elite boxer who competed at the European U-23 Boxing Championship and earned himself a bronze medal award after competing for glory in Hungary back in November.
The 20-year-old represented the Irish U-23 squad during the tournament at the 50kg category where he faced some tough opponents.
The European bronze medalist has become the recipient of a £2,000 grant courtesy of Mary Peters Trust as they hope to continue their sponsorship of young and up-and-coming sportsmen and women.
Louis, who fights out of Star Amatuer Boxing Club in North Belfast, touched on his achievement last month and claims that despite aiming for a gold medal, he was still proud to return with a bronze after a tough campaign.
“In Hungary during November I was really hoping for gold but was thrilled to bring back a bronze for Team Ireland. I’ve been lucky enough to have had Mary Peters Trust funding support for the past couple of years, providing vital help to enable me to attend international tournaments and championships.
“In addition to helping with travel costs, grants aid purchase of nutritional supplements as well as important training equipment, I’m so grateful to Mary and her Trust, for all the help I can gain from this funding.”
Since 2014 ‘Make It Happen’ awards have been presented annually by the Mary Peters Trust to outstanding athletes who are selected from a top-class field following a competitive interview process.
The winning applicants are those deemed to benefit most from accessing specialist cutting-edge training and development opportunities to help propel their sporting careers to the next level.
Louis Rooney competed for Ireland in last Autumn's European Championships
Mid-December Louis also qualified for and will compete in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and his dream goal would be to represent Ireland at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Also, on his sporting ‘to do’ list for 2026 is the European Championships in Italy where Louis will aim to raise the bar on this year’s event with a silver or gold medal.
Louis is currently ranked 10th in the world in his category of U-23 light flyweight and number one in Europe and Ireland.
The North Belfast man is a two times Irish Elite champion, having won back-to-back in 2024 and 2025. Louis also took gold at the European 2024 U-23 Championships and in 2025 won bronze in the Strandja International World Cup and became Romanian Golden Belts Champion.
Louis’ boxing escapades have not gone unnoticed with Mary Peters meeting with the young boxing star and feeling he is a perfect example of who her award should be given to.
“Make it Happen funding awards are presented to the very best of our emerging young talent and are vital in making a difference to an athlete’s progress and opportunities helping them reach new heights on their sporting journey. For me, that is Louis in a nutshell.
“Louis has already achieved so much but he has the ambition to go much further and at the Trust we are totally behind him and are confident that there are even bigger accolades to come.
“The Mary Peters Trust has a wonderful tradition of supporting elite boxers and top names we have funded in the past include Carl Frampton, Aidan Walsh and his sister Michaela, Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan amongst others, some might say it bodes well for the young and upcoming stars of tomorrow.”
Joining Louis as 2025 Make it Happen award winners are hockey player Lola Henderson and table tennis competitor Peadar Sheridan who collected a Power NI Make it Happen award.
Next year Louis has his sights firmly set on the gold medal at the 2026 European Championships, and if this year is anything to go by then certainly it will be no surprise if he is dawning the tricolour over in the States in less than three years’ time.
