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IABA unveil Bernard Dunne as new high performance director

“My vision is to take the very best in the current system and match it with the very latest in high performance training.”

THE IRISH ATHLETIC Boxing Association (IABA) have today confirmed that Bernard Dunne will take up the long-vacant role of high performance director in the organisation.

The position has been vacant since Gary Keegan’s departure after the 2008 Olympic Games, with head coach Billy Walsh effectively filling the void until leaving before last year’s Games in Rio.

“Bernard came through a thorough and extensive recruitment,” IABA CEO Fergal Carruth said in a statement today.

In addition to the former WBA Super Bantamweight champ, the governing body have also announced plans to move their base to the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown and Carruth hopes both measures can lead to an upturn in fortunes.

“It is fantastic for the sport in this country that it was someone who achieved such success in boxing that emerged as the best qualified candidate.

“The Rio Olympic Games were both difficult and disappointing for boxing but we are delighted that with this appointment together with the announcement of the move to the Sport Ireland Institute of our High Performance Unit that we have addressed three of the key recommendations detailed in the review conducted after the Rio Games.

Bernard Dunne Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“We are confident that Bernard and the rest of the High Performance Team are now well placed to maximise the conveyor belt of talent that exists in Irish boxing evidenced by the continued success of our youth boxers in international competition.”

Dunne, who has been working in an unspecified role with Jim Gavin’s Dublin senior football team, reportedly seen off competition from former Ireland rugby head coach Eddie O’Sullivan and American Modern Pentathlon performance director Scott Novack.

“My vision is to take the very best in the current system and match it with the very latest in high performance training so that our men and women can perform and win at European, World and Olympic level,” says Dunne.

“Their attitude, commitment and work ethics are equally as important as their talents. So, I will be working with the boxers and the coaches to get the very best from their training regimes, diets, as well as their physical, mental and all round development.”

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