Sisters Aoife O'Rourke and Lisa O'Rourke are through to their respective 75kg and 80kg finals at the European Elite Boxing Championships in Bulgaria.
Aoife O'Rourke will box for a fourth European gold medal on Friday after coming through her 75kg semi-final bout with Russia's Saltanat Medenova in Sofia.
It was a dominant display from the Roscommon fighter with the judges awarding her the contest on a 4-1 scoreline: 30:27; 30:27; 30:27; 30:27; 27:30.
Friday's final will see the 29-year-old take on Turkey's Busra Isildar, a multiple World and European medallist.
The younger Lisa O'Rourke (above) also caught the eye with her emphatic 5-0 victory over Ukraine's Iryna Lutsak, with the scorecard reading: 30:27; 30:27; 30:27; 30:27; 30:27.
This evening at 5.15pm will see the world gold and silver medallist face Russia's Anastasiia Demurchian, herself a former world champion, in the gold medal contest.
🥊Interview gate-crashed!
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 23, 2026
Lisa O'Rourke’s chat with RTÉ Sport is interrupted by older sister Aoife minutes after the pair had secured final spots at the European Elite Boxing Championships in Bulgaria. pic.twitter.com/DiwUHCkEtO
Both sisters gave their accounts of how their individual bouts unfolded to RTÉ Sport, with the pair keen to point out that the scoreline did not reflect what transpired over the five rounds.
"It didn't feel easy at all, she wanted it as much as I did," said Lisa.
"No matter what country you are, you are going to keep going after putting in a huge training load. She liked to switch from southpaw to orthodox; I find it hard to be good at one!
"She was really keeping me mind thinking constantly when she switched hands. That's a good thing about us Irish, we know how to dig deep. It's in us all."
Another world champion ticked off - Roscommon's Aoife O’Rourke reacts to reaching the European Elite Boxing Championship final in Sofia. pic.twitter.com/GwPQ68GkTI
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 23, 2026
Aoife added: "She was a tough opponent for sure and I knew the intensity was going to be there from the first bell in looking at her previous fights. She brought that intensity to every round. I knew she was going to throw a lot volume to start but I was hoping to wear her down but she was intent at coming at me.
"I felt settled a bit more into the fight and I tuned in to what the coaches were saying, I settled down and picked my shots."
Michaela Walsh has guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal at the European Elite Championships in Bulgaria after a strong finish saw her get the better of home favourite Stanimira Petrova in their 57kg quarter-final.
With little to separate the pair for most of the contest, double Olympian Walsh dominated the final round and came away with the 5-0 decision: 28:29; 28:29; 28:29; 28:29; 27:30.
Next up for the 33-year-old Belfast fighter is a semi-final date with World Boxing Cup Brazil silver medallist, Kukhta Vlagyszlava of Hungary this evening at 4pm..
Speaking afterwards, Walsh spoke of her determination to achieve a place on the podium in Sofia, telling RTÉ Sport: "I knew today was going to be a tough fight, she's obviously World champion and European champion.
"We knew each other quite well and have a lot of respect for each other but before coming out, I said 'I'm not leaving Bulgaria without a medal'".
As for how that crucial final round unfolded, the two-time Olympian added: It was a cagey first round and it could have went wither way.; we were both catching each other with good jabs. I got the news I was down in the fight and I upped the intensity, was more clinical in my punches.
"Going into the last round I looked straight at her and could see she was breathing heavy. When she came at me I caught her on the counter. I was in a flow and I knew I had the decision."
Holy Trinity fighter Jon McConnell will leave the Bulgarian capital with a bronze after he lost his last-four bout in the 70kg division to Azerbaijan's Nabi Isgandarov.
In truth, the contest could have gone either way but the 4-1 decision went to Isgandarov, with the judges scoring it 29:28; 28:29; 29:28; 29:28; 29:28.
"I had a good tournament but when you come this far you want to get in the final, you want to win gold," he told RTÉ Sport.
"It doesn't mean much at the minute to be honest, I just didn't want to let my coaches back home down.
"It was on that last round and I just didn't have that bit of energy. I've had a tough few months off the back of the Commonwealth Games and I've had a tough tournament here."
Tyrone's Jude Gallagher earlier missed out on a medal after he lost a 60kg quarter-final bout on a split decision to Spain's Ewart Andres Marin Hernandez.
The 3-2 call went in Hernandez's favour: 29:28; 29:28; 28:29, 28:29; 30:27. Yet the 22-year-old was warned for leading with his head on numerous occasions, but crucially got the 30-27 nod from one judge to secure his progression.
With a bronze medal already in the bag, Jon McConnell was disappointed a shot at gold is not for him, feeling that "I just didn't have that bit of energy" in the final round of his 70kg quarter-final bout against Azerbaijan's Nabi Isgandarov #rtesport pic.twitter.com/aai8ZlH5cD
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 23, 2026
The Cuban-born Spaniard is a former World Youth silver medallist, and was also on the podium with a silver at this year's Mediterranean Games.
Gallagher was crestfallen when the result was read out as he looked to add to the bronze medal he won at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Watch Lisa O'Rourke's final on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 5pm on Thursday, with a deferred showing of Michaela Walsh's semi-final
