Rousing reception in Castlerea for O'Rourke  sisters as they present silver medal to coach

Castlerea sisters Aoife and Lisa O’Rourke returned home tonight, Monday, proudly displaying their silver medals and were given a rousing reception at the town's boxing club. They also had a special presentation for boxing club coach Paddy Sharkey.

In what was an emotional moment, the sisters stated that they had received an extra medal that they could present to somebody who has inspired them. The duo presented the medal to club coach Paddy Sharkey in a touching gesture.

The Tarmon sisters put their hometown on the international map once more with a series of superb performances at the World Boxing Championships in Serbia, culminating in last Sunday evening’s gold medal bouts. They became the first sisters to fight in the finals of the championships on the same day.

Although they were eventually edged out by their Russian opponents they claimed silver medals and in Castlerea on Monday night the people showed their appreciation for what they have achieved.

Seeing a mural of themselves on the wall of Castlerea Boxing Club, they spoke of their delight at the honour. "This is my first time seeing the mural," said Lisa. "Aoife has seen it once before. To put us on the wall is an honour. We are delighted to have youngsters coming in and out of the club that can look up to us and hopefully we are an inspiration to them. Hopefully someday they will be bringing home medals to the club too."

Aoife added that they were getting messages of support from home during the week and that was really, really special. "We are delighted to be home," she said.

Paddy Sharkey paid tribute to "two outstanding girls. They’re fierce dedicated, but you must be in this sport. The amount of time they spend at it, the training in Dublin, is unreal. You must take your hat off to them,” he said.