Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington didn't pull any punches in her assessment of the latest controversy to engulf Irish boxing, describing the circumstances that led to Bernard Dunne tendering his resignation as the Irish Athletic Boxing Association's high performance director as a "sh**show".
Dunne lodged a complaint against two IABA volunteers last October after an unsigned SWOT analysis, which was critical of his performance, was circulated at board level prior to the Tokyo Games.
The fallout from the episode eventually led to Dunne’s acrimonious departure at the start of this month.
The former super bantamweight world champion allegedly also had to deal with a militant cohort within the AIBA, who want a say in how and who represent Ireland on the international stage.
While Irish amateur boxers have a rich tradition as podium performers, the beleaguered governing body continues to perform at a less-than-stellar level, and Harrington remains firmly in the Dunne corner.
"I’ve no idea what’s going on," the Dublin woman said, when asked on the latest developments within the IABA.
"I just know that it’s a sh**show at the moment and it’s been like that for a number of years.
"Something keeps happening all the time. It needs to be sorted out because the only people missing out are the boxers.
"Secretly, in my head, I’m hoping that it gets sorted out and that Bernard will take his job back, but I think that’s probably not going to happen, but that’s what I would love to happen.
"I’ve spoken to Bernard and said to him, 'I’d love you to be back and to be looking after us’, even to get us through the qualifiers and then get us through Paris (Olympic Games).
"But I've also said to him, 'listen, your health is your wealth, this is just part of your life and you’ve got to look after yourself. By looking after yourself, you can look after your family. You’ve got to make the right decisions.'"
Harrington was a high-profile absentee from the recent Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul due to injury.
The exact nature of the ailment that forced the 2018 lightweight world champion to miss out wasn’t revealed, and the 32-year-old was keen to bob and weave when again scrutinised on the problem, describing it as no more than a "niggle".
"I’ll hopefully be back sparring by the start of July and getting ready for the Europeans in October," Harrington said.
"I’m just getting back slowly but surely, and looking after my physical and mental health."
The initial devastation of missing out on the World Championships, and financial ramifications of that enforced absence, were blows softened by the exploits of the Irish team, with Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O'Rourke both grabbing golds in Turkey.
"It’s really hard when you’re sitting back and you’re watching your weight class, especially with all the money that’s on the line," the Dubliner admitted.
"It was very, very difficult at the start. But you know what, when I got to watch the team – and I’ve been training alongside these girls for a good while now – and when you get to see them and how they’re performing, not just the two world champions, the whole team and how they’re performing, you're looking at the change in them and the growth they’re undergoing.
"It just makes me so happy to be a part of that and then to watch the two girls go on and get the gold, it was just the icing on the cake.
"It was absolutely brilliant and a great day for Irish sport."
For those fighters who came up short in Istanbul, Harrington had words of encouragement, saying: "I do believe that the other girls on the team will get their chance as well.
"But it's all about staying positive and recovering from the little bumps on the road, and realising that it will happen, but it might not just happen as quickly or as soon as you’d like it to happen."
Harrington was speaking at an event to publicise her new role as a sports ambassador for Dublin City Council, with the goal one of highlighting the benefits of participating in sport and physical activity in the capital, and the amenities DCC has to offer.
Corinthians Boxing Club in the inner city doesn’t fall under the auspices of the DCC, but a recent story about an unsatisfactory situation with changing rooms highlights the challenges women in sport still face, even if this particular one is easy to resolve.
Harrington now fights out of St Mary’s in Tallaght, but Corinthians was the club that nurtured Harrington’s nascent talent in adolescence.
"I did see the article and it did say that the men were in the men’s changing rooms and women were in the small changing rooms, but there are actually more women than there are men in the club.
"Do the maths! What way would you work that out? How about switching changing rooms, for starters?"
"In my own club the showers are broken, they have to be fixed, and they’re broken a while.
"This is a common thing, I'd say, with a lot of sports clubs, not just boxing clubs."
