SO sizeable is their growing medal collection, the Brady brothers from Bantry must be worth their own weight in gold.
Talented local kickboxers Oisin (17) and Oran (15) have been snaffling up the medals at an incredible rate this year, building on the momentum of 2022 when Oisin was crowned world junior kickboxing champion while Oran finished third in the world.
Fighting out of their father Bernard’s ION Kickboxing Club, Oisin and Oran have both booked their tickets on the flight to the WAKO European Championships Cadets & Juniors in Turkey late in the summer.
‘They have both done amazingly well,’ explains Bernard, who is also their trainer.
‘Their training is going extremely well, and they are performing at a very high level. They are sparring with each other every week and they are still managing to beat the best in the world; that’s a huge achievement.’
At the Kickboxing Ireland National Championships in March, Oisin defended his Irish title (older junior, full contact, -71kg), while Oran also brought gold home to West Cork in his -81kg younger junior full contact category. At the light contact nationals that followed, Oisin again won gold (-67kg, older junior) while Oran finished third (-79kg, young junior). The Brady brothers then travelled to the Turkish Open, part of the WAKO World Cup series, and both Oisin and Oran won gold on the international stage to continue their medal-laden run in 2024.
They will both compete in full contact at what will be their first Europeans, kicking off in August. The Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí duo – Oisin is heading into his Leaving Cert year while Oran is currently sitting his Junior Cert exams – will be two to watch on the international stage.
