Dual jewel Grace merits some mention
Castlebar teenager Grace Bailey enjoyed an exceptional year in both boxing and gaelic football and will receive the Merit award at next Saturday's Western People Mayo Sports Stars gala presentation banquet.
It’s one thing to reach and perform at an elite level in any sport but to excel in two marks Grace Bailey as a very special talent indeed.
A fearless character in the boxing ring and on the football field, the Castlebar teenager enjoyed an incredible 2025 in both codes.
Her greatest successes arguably came between the ropes. Already a national champion as far back as 2023, last year saw Grace take her pugilistic skills internationally. And oh how she made her mark, fighting four times and winning four times.
In March, Grace travelled to Portugal to take part in one of Europe's leading international boxing tournaments, the Porto Box CUP, where she won the gold medal in the Youths 70kg category with back-to-back victories against Mei Levevaz and Julianne Santos. But even better was to come for the Mayo and Connacht champion when she travelled to Croatia in November for the Zagreb Queen Tournament.
The Mayo woman faced Julija Bozak, who was representing the home nation, in her first bout and was in total control throughout. Having picked up the pace significantly in the second round, by the third she was so dominant that the referee was forced to step in and end the contest early. In the 70kg final, Grace took on Slovenia’s Ema Kladnik and again won all three rounds on the scorecards to not only bring home the gold medal but have the judges crown her as best youth boxer of the entire tournament.
It's little wonder then that centre-forwards don’t like being marked by Grace Bailey on the football field either. In another incredible achievement, 2025 not only saw the St Joseph’s Secondary School student win a second consecutive Connacht LGFA U16 title with Mayo, but play in her third All-Ireland football final in a row. Having won the U14 title back in 2023 when the Green and Red got the better of Cork, Grace has since also appeared in the U16 finals of 2024 and 2025 and while defeat was their lot against Cavan and Kerry on those occasions, as long as centre-back Grace is in their corner, Mayo will always have a fighting chance.
