AMY BROADHURST, THE newly-crowned Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2022, has revealed how she almost quit boxing this time last year.
The brilliant Dundalk boxer enjoyed a glittering ’22, winning every one of her bouts en route to taking gold at the World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Michael Conlon is the only other Irish boxer to have ever achieved that feat, and Broadhurst now joins Katie Taylor and Kellie Harrington in winning the prestigious Irish Times award.
In an excellent interview with Aisling O’Reilly of Off The Ball at yesterday’s ceremony at the Shelbourne Hotel, Broadhurst explained how professional help and guidance from Taylor, among others, helped turn her against throwing in the towel.
“No one probably knows this and I never actually said it in an interview before, but this time last year, I was actually speaking to a psychologist because I couldn’t see no future in boxing,” the 25-year-old said.
“Everything that was going on, the politics, everything was just getting me down, and I actually thought about walking away from the sport because [I thought] this isn’t going to work out for me.
“Going and speaking to somebody and getting the help that I needed to actually have the belief in myself to stand here today with everything that I’ve achieved, that’s probably what I’m most proud of. No one knows it, and if you had to have asked me this time last year would I be here, I would have said no. No one knows the reason why I actually said that, so be standing here now — being a world champion, a Commonwealth champion, a European champion and the best boxer in Europe, I’ll forever, ever be proud of myself for that, no matter what happens now.”
🗣"I just thought to myself I need to go and do something here before I f*** everything up for myself."
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) December 20, 2022
World Champion boxer Amy Broadhurst reveals to @AshOReilly that she almost quit boxing and sought out professional help as well as guidance from @KatieTaylor to keep going. pic.twitter.com/CZJDEIblwj
“I’ve faced tough times before and I was able to get through them on my own, but the way my mind was and the way I was thinking, I just thought to myself, ‘No, I need to go and do something here before I f*** — excuse me — everything up for myself,’” she added.
“I went and I spoke to a man called Paul, he was brilliant to me. Rachel in the High Performance [United, Sport Ireland] was the one who actually got me speaking to him and it benefitted me massively. And Katie Taylor helping me and the things she had said to me about how good I was definitely helped me so much.”
Speaking to The Irish Times, Broadhurst also told a lovely story about visiting her old primary school after being crowned world champion.
“They had a letter I had written when I was 11 years of age. It was a story about me imagining in my own head that I had won the Olympics. I came back to Dundalk and everybody was out to welcome me home.
“It wasn’t an Olympic medal but having everybody out to welcome me home was something I’d always dreamed of. All of my estate was out. To hear them read that letter back to me at school, something I’d written as a little girl and now being 25, amazing.”
She’ll hope to realise that Olympic dream sooner rather than later, Paris 2024 top of her list of priorities. “The Olympics, that has always been the dream and fingers crossed, 2023 is when the dream will come through when I qualify,” she smiled.
Broadhurst was joined by a star-studded cast at the Shelbourne yesterday, with each of the monthly award winners recognised and the Republic of Ireland women’s football team landing the Outstanding Achievement accolade.
Four members of the 2023 World Cup-bound side – Áine O’Gorman, Diane Caldwell, Saoirse Noonan and Abbie Larkin — were present to accept the accolade, which was presented by the legendary Olivia O’Toole.
The full list of monthly winners were:
- December 2021: Ellen Walshe (Swimming)
- January: Lucy Mulhall (Rugby)
- February: Leona Maguire (Golf)
- March: Rachael Blackmore (Horse Racing)
- April: Katie Taylor (Boxing)
- May: Lisa O’Rourke (Boxing) and Amy Broadhurst (Boxing)
- June: Rhasidat Adeleke (Athletics)
- July: Niamh O’Sullivan (Gaelic Football)
- August: Ciara Mageean (Athletics)
- September: Katie O’Brien (Rowing)
- October: Kellie Harrington (Boxing) and Courtney Brosnan (Soccer)
- November: Gaby Lewis (Cricket).
