INTA Board welcomed to the Mansion House

Written on 18 February 2019.

All Masters, members of the INTA board, and their partners were invited to the Mansion House in Dublin last Saturday night. We were welcomed by Nial Ring, the 349th Lord Mayor of the city. We were ushered into the Drawing Room for refreshments, after which the Lord Mayor gave us the very interesting “15 minute tour”, filled with historic anecdotes about this 300 year old mansion. The stint ended in the Dining Room, where we were invited to take a seat on the Victorian mahogany dining-room table, which was the table where the Cabinet members of the first and second Dáil had sat.

Bruce Mc Devitt of Dublin City Council sports officer joined us at the table. Dinner was a delicious 3-course meal, with lovely wine and plenty of time to catch up with everyone. After we all finished our meal, Master Fagan introduced the new World lightweight boxing champion Kelly Harrington. He then gave a speech in which Master Fagan complimented her achievements and boxing skills, and talked about the INTA in general. There was a lovely box of chocolates for Ms Harrington and all the ladies present. We then had some photo opportunities, and were invited to stay and have a few more drinks.

We thank Lord Mayor Nial Ring for the invitation, hospitality, and a lovely evening.

Photos by Mark Pollock Photograpy.

20th INTA Open

Written on 04 February 2019.

We are proud of our competitions, but this year we have a bit of a celebration. This year we run the INTA Open for the 20th time, making it the longest running Open International ITF Taekwon-Do competition in Europe!

So far we have guests arriving from Belgium, Scotland, Wales, Norway, and Northern Ireland. We hope you can join us this year, and be part of this fantastic competition.

The 20th INTA Open International ITF Taekwon-Do Tournament will be held in the Aras Preston Sports Complex, Gormanston Park, Gormanston, Co. Meath.

Saturday 9 March 2019 9:45 a.m. – All junior colour belts up to 13 years of age.
Sunday 10 March 2019 9:45 a.m. – All 14 years and older and all junior black belts.

See you there!

AGM 2018 report

Written on 05 December 2018.

The Irish National Taekwon-Do Association held its Annual General Meeting in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Little Island, Co. Cork on 2 December. Grandmaster O'Toole, President of the INTA, welcomed everyone and opened the meeting at noon sharp.

The Secretary, Mr Curran, quickly reviewed this year's agenda and last year's minutes.

Grandmaster O'Toole gave a year-end review, in which he welcomed the instructors who joined the INTA in 2018. The INTA has now dojangs in Waterford (Master Franks), Tallow, Graiguecullen, Portlaoise, Bweeng, Hollyhill, Ovens, Cherry Orchard, and Fettercairn; 47 clubs in total. He also remarked on the promotion of three new 7th Dan Masters in 2018.

After this various reports were discussed, and extensive calendar of events was handed out. The items in the calendar will appear on this website shortly.

At the end, Grandmaster O'Toole wished everyone a good holiday season and a happy new year, and closed the meeting.

INTA Winter Black Belt Grading

Written on 03 December 2018.

On 1 December the INTA held it's winter black belt grading. The prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel in Cork was chosen to reflect the importance of welcoming new black belt to the Taekwon-Do family. The hotel's Great Island Ballroom was divided in two sections, and each section had tasteful festive Christmas Decorations.

For the first time in the INTA's history, the grading panel for the first Dan consisted of five 7th Degree Masters; Master Donnelly lead the panel further consisting of Master Franks, Master Fagan, Master Stobie, and the recently promoted Master Troy. Registration for the 28 candidates for first degree started bright and early at 08:15 a.m. Master Donnelly held a short welcoming speech for all black tag students at 9 o'clock, and put them at ease, for as far as that was possible. The grading started soon thereafter, with candidates presenting themself in groups of four, for movements up and down the floor, patterns, step sparring and self defence. Thereafter was a short break in which students could put on their gear, and prepare for sparring. After some intense rounds, all students were tested individually for their theoretic knowledge of Taekwon-Do, followed by the dreaded power test.