Ireland 9 Finland 6 European Men's Box Lacrosse Championship Final, Radotín, 4 July 2026
Ireland are champions of Europe. This is the first senior gold medal in the history of Irish lacrosse. Nine days after Finland edged them in overtime to open the tournament, Ireland turned the tables in the final that counted, winning 9-6 to take the title.
This time there was no late collapse and no overtime. Ireland never trailed. Brian Gillis opened the scoring on the power play in the fifth minute, and goals from Duncan and Foley built a 3-1 lead that Finland spent the rest of the night trying to close. Every time the Finns got within one, Ireland answered.
Conor Foley led the attack with four goals and two assists, capping a tournament in which he was Ireland's most consistent scorer. Captain Brian Gillis finished with three goals and three assists, a return that reflected his influence across the whole campaign. Duncan added two goals. Ireland outshot Finland 82 to 65 and won the ground-ball count 60 to 50, controlling the game in the areas that decide finals.
Devlin Shanahan closed out the tournament the way he had played through it. He made 35 saves at 85 percent in the final, the last line of a defence that carried Ireland through two overtime wins and a gold-medal decider. Roope Jokela, so damaging in the opener with three goals and four assists, was limited to two goals and kept quiet through the decisive stretch.
Individual honours followed the performances. Shanahan was named Goalie MVP and selected to the Tournament All-Star team, recognition for a goaltender who was the difference in more than one Irish win. Foley joined him on the All-Star team after leading the line from the opener to the final.
The gold caps sixteen years of work for head coach Jeff Dowling, in charge of the national programme since 2010. He was supported by offensive coordinator Clancy Almas, defensive coordinator Pat McCready, and scouting and video analyst Sean Gibson, who also serves as Men's National Teams Director. Captain Brian Gillis lifted the title alongside assistant captains Patrick Corbett, Nick D'Amico and Ciaron Costello.
Ireland's road to gold ran through an overtime loss, a twenty-year wait ended against England, a quarter-final demolition of Italy, an overtime semi-final against Germany, and a final won on their own terms. A team that started the tournament on the wrong end of one goal finished it as European champions, and as the first Irish senior side to win gold.