DIGEST:The president of the European Olympic Committee and the Irish Olympic Council, Pat Hickey, has vowed to ensure that women's boxing is an Olympic sport at the 2012 London games.
Hickey was speaking at the Irish Amateur Boxing Association's (IABA) awards night at the Ringside club beside the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night.
World and European champion Taylor and European bronze medallist Ken Egan shared the International Award at the weekend's celebrations.
Egan has set himself a target of qualification for the Beijing 2008 Olympics this year, but Taylor must wait because Olympic chiefs have ruled out women's boxing for 2008.
But Hickey is confident that women's boxing will be given the green light for the London Olympiad.
"I will be doing everything in my power to try and ensure that women's boxing is an Olympic sport in 2012," he said, "and I would be confident that it will be included in the London Games.
"Katie is a superb athlete and she deserves the chance to represent Ireland on the highest stage of them all and I will be lobbying the powers that be from here on in to ensure that women's boxing is included in London."
Taylor was also presented with the Ann Abatte Award which acknowledges historic achievements in Irish boxing.
St Michael's, Athy, who landed 11 national titles last year, won the best club award, while the best boxer award went to John Joe Joyce of the Athy club.
Seán Canavan and Harry Perry were inducted into the IABA Hall of Fame.
Connacht have appointed the former Canadian director of rugby to head up the development of the domestic game in the province.
The appointment of Martin Gallagher, a former regional development officer with the English RFU, is seen as a huge step forward for club and schools rugby in Connacht.
Gallagher (44), has been appointed provincial domestic games manager in a new position created by the IRFU in each of the four provinces.
Gallagher has been director of rugby with the Canadian national team for the past two years, and has an extensive rugby background.
He has also been a development officer with the English RFU and has held several coaching positions all over the world over the past 10 years.While Saturday's Edinburgh cross country proved yet again the gulf in class between the African distance runners and the rest of the world, it also proved that Ireland's Fionnula Britton can mix it with the best in Europe, writes Ian O'Riordan.
The young Wicklow athlete left several top Europeans in her wake, including the reigning European senior champion, to finish in sixth place over a very testing 6.2km course around Edinburgh's Holyrood Park.
It was probably her best performance to date, and certainly just as encouraging as when she won the silver medal in the under-23 event at last month's European Championships. The only athlete to beat Britton that day, Binnaz Uslu of Turkey, finished well behind her this time.
Victory went to reigning World short-course champion Gelete Burka of Ethiopia, with another massively impressive performance in 23 minutes 21 seconds, with Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya coming through to edge out Benita Johnson of Australia for second in 23:33.
In fourth was the other Ethiopian, Meselech Melkamu, the double World cross country bronze medallist, with another Australian, Anna Thompson, fifth in 23:50.
Then came the 22-year-old Britton, running on strongly for sixth in 23:57, followed by the Portuguese champion, Analia Rosa; the European senior winner of a couple of weeks ago, Tatyana Holovchenko from the Ukraine; Cristina Casandra of Romania, and a number of other notables, including the best of the British, Liz Yelling.
Britton had even mixed it with African leaders up front right from the gun. Even when she lost some ground on a difficult stretch and dropped back to eighth, she fought her way back to finish just 20 seconds behind Johnson - a former World champion.
On this form, Britton is now favourite to win the National senior title for the first time and so earn herself automatic selection for the World Championships.
Given this performance, she would be deserving of a chance to take her place in the event that will be staged in Kenya for the first time.
There was also a good run from Gary Murray of Donegal in the men's short (4km) event, where he finished fourth in 12:44, with victory going to Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine in 12:17.
And Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia produced yet another extraordinary run to win the men's 9.3km race in 28:15, 10 seconds clear of Zersenay Tadesse from Eritrea.
