Damien Kennedy has been confirmed as interim high performance head coach by the Irish Athletic Boxing Association.
Hailing from Toome on the shores of Lough Neagh in County Antrim. Kennedy has three decades of coaching experience at all levels of the IABA.
“It’s an honour to lead the National programme on an interim basis; to build on the legacy of boxing technical excellence learned from and with Zauri” said Kennedy.
“He and I worked hand-in-glove to prepare boxers for the highest levels of competition across many years, ably assisted by High Performance coaches in Dublin and in Ulster”.
“There’s an exciting and challenging competition period just around the corner; and I look forward to further supporting IABA boxers in achieving their goals.”
Whereas, High Performance Director, Jon Mackey, said; “Damian has already brought a wealth of boxing technical skills to High Performance over the last four years, and has a proven track record of achievement in terms of his contribution to podium finishes, athlete development and talent ID”.
His athlete-first instincts, coupled with his innate mentorship skills and strategic planning abilities mean he is ideally placed to lead on boxer development and support during the early stages of our first full year of World Boxing competition”
Kennedy was TeamNI Boxing Head Coach for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Northern Ireland topped the medals table with a record number of podium finishes.
An Olympic coach; Kennedy has also held event-specific leadership roles at National level, including as Head Coach of the Team Ireland at the 2nd Olympic Qualifier in Bangkok. Four boxers booked their seats on the plane to Paris in addition to coaching at the Games.
The IABA intends to begin recruitment for the High Performance Head Coach in the New Year.
