Limerick teenager wins world title at Amazing Muay Thai Festival

A LIMERICK teenager is on top of the world after kickboxing his way to a world title in Muay Thai.

Thomas McMahon, 15, from Castleconnell, but raised in Kennedy Park, travelled to Thailand to take part in the Amazing Muay Thai Festival. The event, backed by the World Boxing Council (WBC) was held in the capital of Bangkok.

And the prodigy, who trains at Eastside Muay Thai in Ballysimon Road, became the 53.5kg Youth World Champion for 2024 after downing an Australian opponent.

Asked how he felt winning the title, he said: “It was relief really, that all my hard work paid off. It was really hard training, especially in the hot weather. But it got me ready to win.”

Despite only starting his kickboxing journey a little over two years ago, Thomas - a student at Newport College - has already won a raft of medals and belts.

Among other things, he won the WBC Celtic Title in the under-16 category - the first Irish kickboxer to do this.
He followed it up just 30 days later by winning the same title in a different weight category.

In doing so, he set a record for the shortest time between titles, and was recognised for this by the WBC.
He also won a golden glove at the WBC Muay Thai Youth Games in Venice, Italy.

Now he has his sights set on further European titles, and all going well, a shot at the Olympic games.

Thomas only got interested in Muay Thai kickboxing at the age of 12, when he joined Pankration MMA Kickboxing Academy at Ballysimon Road.

"On the first day I came, someone who is one of my best friends now hit me so hard, and I liked it! So I came back six days a week, and it's got me to where I am today," he explained.

He moved to Eastside Muay Thai and linked up with coach Calvin Ross, who has guided him through his many achievements so far.

Asked who he admires in the kickboxing world, Thomas said: "I just want to be like myself. I want people to look up to me."
Thomas's father, also Thomas, is bursting with pride at his son's achievements.

He said: "It's a great feeling to see my son do this. His achievements? What can any father say only that I'm overwhelmed with passion for him. Seeing him do good brings joy to me."

Thomas Sr runs a timber yard near Castleconnell, and revealed he had to scrimp and save in order to ensure his son was able to travel to Thailand for the contest.

As for the future, local businessman Ray O’Halloran has agreed to sponsor the youngster.

He said: "When I heard about this young person's achievement, I couldn't believe it. When I looked further into the story and found out it was all done without sponsorship, I decided to come on board. He's a Limerick man: we have loads of people sponsoring people who are outside Limerick and I'd hate to lose this guy to outsiders."

The Corbally man acknowledged his own sponsorship will only get Thomas so far.

"But there are people who have corporate social responsibility targets. Wouldn't it be great if, for a part of that, they took on a young lad from Flanker Court?"

"I can't believe we have a young fella, 15 years, from Limerick city, that could be, in my head, the next Conor McGregor."

Not only a talented martial artist, Thomas is Ireland's first and only ambassador for The Mental Shift, a mental health organisation based in Britain that aims to promote positive mental health in the Muay Thai world.

As part of this, he joined his uncle John McMahon in a Christmas Day run to highlight the need for support for those who are struggling.

It was John who accompanied him to the competition in Thailand, and he said: "He's very humble and level headed. His commitment in Thailand - I've never seen anything like it!"

"Thomas got up every morning at 6am without fail. He went training, went running for 10km. We'd get breakfast, and then he'd go to the gym again at 3pm, then you wouldn't see him until nine o'clock that night," he said.

"In terms of commitment and resilience, in my 43 years, I've never seen anything like it."