Golden Cobra’s Halle tops in All-Ireland final

GOLDEN Cobra Boxing Club recently saw its first national champion in several years with Halle Bardon winning the G2 All-Ireland Championships where she secured a stoppage victory over Layla O’Connell of St Francis BC Limerick.

The win is the club’s first national title since Jade Ward won the 53kg G3 championship back in 2022.

Ward’s win had made her the first champion since the club had reformed in 2020 after a number of years away following the passing of Paddy Hyland Snr. She is now joined by Bardon.

A boxing institution within Dublin, Golden Cobra was established by Hyland Snr in 1990 and has gone on to hold over 50 national titles.

Notable former boxers include their first All-Ireland Champion Brian Lynch who preceded the golden batch of Darren Hyland, David Sweetman, Thomas O’Shaughnessy and Michael Dillon, all of whom captured national honours under the tutelage of Paddy.

The club is now currently run by Hyland’s sons Eddie, Paddy and Paulie.

Right now they are operating out of St Thomas’s school on the Fortunestown Road which is where the club started over 35 years ago.

Since then they have changed venues a number of times, operating out of Rathcoole, Cookstown and most recently the Vault Gym in Belgard Square.

Due to owners of the buildings deciding to sell the premises as well as excessive rent costs, the club has been unable to stay long term in any of these vicinities with the main goal at present to be that of a clubhouse.

Currently ongoing talks with SDCC, Golden Cobra hopes to make some progress on this matter in the near future.

Ed Hyland spoke on the importance of having a dedicated facility for the club.

“Little Halle winning the title has given the fire to everyone else to progress.

‘Hopefully it works out and please god we do get a place at the end of the year to call home.

‘Then we can just concentrate on boxing. In the school now we have to put bags up and take them down and we’re only there three nights a week.

‘If we had our own place we’d be open probably 24/7 and training the kids that way.

‘It’s what we’ve always dreamed of and what my dad always dreamed of. We’re just continuing on his legacy.”

“There’s been good talks with the Council, we’ve been told they are hoping to get us a place ‘somewhere in the near future’ which could be the end of the year or more likely next year.”

“The principle of St Thomas’s now is very good to us but we can’t do the same thing we would’ve done in the 90s when there was prefabs we could use.

‘It’s back to the school hall for the time being but hopefully it’s not long term and is just a short term fix and the principle allows us to stay there.

‘He’s looking after us and has been a big help to us.”