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Dublin City Council Announces Irish-Ukrainian Boxing Festival

Dublin City Council is delighted to support Box Fest 2022, an Irish-Ukrainian boxing festival promoting cultural integration and demonstrating how the sport of boxing can be used to promote social inclusion. 

The festival is a collaboration between Dublin City Council, Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership, Galway Sports Partnership, Ukraine Crisis Centre of Ireland, Smithfield Boxing Club, and Olympic Boxing Club Galway. It will culminate with a boxing showcase at St. Catherine’s Community Sports Centre on the 8th of October. In addition to the sporting spectacle, there will be traditional Irish and Ukrainian food and music for all to enjoy.

The launch at St. Catherine’s Community Sports Centre featured a boxing exhibition with athletes from Ukraine, who have travelled to Ireland especially for the festival. They were joined by boxers from Smithfield Boxing Club along with European and world champion boxers from Olympic Boxing Club in Galway. Also in attendance were a number of young people who have recently relocated to Ireland from Ukraine and are engaged in a range of programmes with the Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership, run in conjunction with the Ukrainian Crisis Centre of Ireland. 

Speaking at the launch, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, said, “I want to extend a warm welcome to all of the athletes who have travelled here for Box Fest 2022. At this difficult time, it is important for us to stand with our Ukrainian friends. I have no doubt that this event will be a great celebration of Irish and Ukrainian culture and will further strengthen the ties between our countries.”

Dmytro Shchedrin, First Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy to Ireland, also came to support the event.

Igor Khmil, Head Coach at Smithfield Boxing Club, said, “we are delighted to be able to re-establish Box Fest once again and bring it nationwide, whilst demonstrating partnership and solidarity with our Ukrainian counterparts in this difficult time.”

Source: Dublin City Council

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