“Age is a chronological number. That's all. There is plenty of time for my life afterwards. I'm still a young woman.”

“As long as I still feel a passion for the sport and preparing for these big competitions, I will carry on fighting.”

“Boxing was just another one to keep me going as a child.”

“Definitely, there's a lot of strength in depth in my division.”

“Every fight has been hard. Every world title I've won has been hard fought, and every European title I've won has been hard fought as well.”

“Fighting at the Olympics has been my lifelong dream, and I cannot believe I am there now.”

“I always feel like the freshest boxer going into competitions.”

“I always go into a fight thinking the decision is going to be fair, and I relish these fights where the atmosphere is so fantastic.”

“I am European Games champion now as well as Olympic champion, European champion, and world champion.”

“I became number one just after the World Championships in India. I was very young then, and I remember it was just a great feeling, my first World Championship.”

“I can definitely box on the front foot as well as the back foot. I don't think that's really an issue.”

“I could have 10 kids or be boxing until I'm 40.”

“I do a good job of staying positive and just moving on.”

“I don't even wear miniskirts on a night out, so I definitely won't be wearing miniskirts in the ring.”

“I don't feel much pressure at all. I have great family support, and they take a lot of pressure off me. They help to control media and public interest.”

“I don't really change much; there's not much I can do about the judging in front of a home crowd.”

“I go into every fight trying to win as easy as I can.”

“I have a lot of confidence in myself, and I love that challenge as well. I love going to every competition as the favourite. It's something I relish.”

“I have stayed positiv,e and I believe I am still improving in every competition I enter.”

“I just happen to be a woman and involved in sport, but that doesn't necessarily make me a feminist.”

“I know how it feels to lose.”

“I know MMA isn't for everyone. It is a combat sport; some people don't like watching it, but it is entertainment for some people.”

“I look at what's in front of me. I concentrate on that and then hopefully move on.”

“I love all sorts of food, chocolate especially. I eat well, but I like the odd Chinese, like anyone!”

“I love being the favourite of every competition.”

“I love playing for Ireland, and I love soccer, but when it comes down to it, I would choose boxing as my number one sport, as I'd miss it too much if I wasn't involved.”

“I never think about losing. That's why it's so hard to accept a loss.”

“I never think too far ahead.”

“I owe so much to my dad and what he has done for me. And it's hard work doing what he has done, so he's entitled to a break.”

“I tend to think year-by-year and tournament-by-tournament.”

“I think every fight is a tough fight, but I'm not settling for a bronze medal.”

“I think it's important to feel those losses because I never want to feel like that again.”

“I think, probably, my best asset would probably be my all round game.”

“I want to go down in the history books as one of the greatest female boxers of all time, and I think I'm on the right path.”

“I want to leave a great legacy behind me and continue to win major championships.”

“I want to tell girls, it's not about make-up and how you look that's important; you are so much more than how you look.”

“I would love to be able to speak my own language and maybe have an interview in Irish, maybe after my fights.”

“I wouldn't be where I am without my dad. He's a genius.”

“I wouldn't really call myself a feminist. I obviously want equality and equal opportunities to the men.”

“I'd like to thank everyone for all their support and prayers. I'm so humbled by that.”

“I'd love to have a chance to fight in the World Series Boxing for women, but nothing has been done about that.”

“I'm a huge fan of Conor McGregor, an incredible athlete. What he has done for MMA is phenomenal; he has been a great supporter of me.”

“I'm honoured and delighted to be named the 'Irish Times'/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year 2014. This has been an amazing year for me and for Irish women in sport, and I would like to congratulate all the finalists in their respective fields who have excelled at major sporting events.”

“I'm in a privileged position, but I still feel like the best is yet to come, and people still haven't seen the best of me yet, and that is so exciting for me.”

“I'm in the public eye. I'm recognised a small bit more. That's part and parcel of it.”

“I'm just sorry I couldn't come home with a second Olympic gold medal.”

“I'm not going to be boxing forever, but I've put no time-cap on it, really.”

“I'm the one that everyone is trying to beat.”

“It doesn't matter who other people are saying the favourite is; I'm still going in to win the gold medal.”

“It's always tough to stay at the top for so long.”

“It's great to be boxing a local boxer. The atmosphere is always fantastic. I love those fights. I really relish those fights.”

“It's ridiculous having the pros in an amateur sport, but at the same time, there's a lot of pros who are going to struggle over three rounds.”

“It's so true: the fight is won or lost in the gym, and those words really stuck with me throughout my career.”

“It's such a shame, really, because we were known for our country of saints and scholars, and we grew up with such a great tradition with St. Patrick, and he is the one who brought Christianity to Ireland, and we celebrate St. Patrick's day every single year, but there's very few practising Catholics or practising Christians.”

“I've a great group of people, a great family behind me all the way, all the time. You cannot underestimate that.”

“I've been offered a few professional contracts... in the hundreds and thousands.”

“I've boxed many people in their own backyard plenty of times - in China, I boxed a Chinese girl in the final of the world championships, and I've boxed Russians before in their home nation as well.”

“I've had losses in my career before, and I've always come back stronger from those losses.”

“My training diet can be quite strict when I'm coming up to competition; it's a weight-making sport, of course. But I eat quite healthily anyway, and it's less strict when out of competition.”

“No world championship has been easy for me.”

“People say, 'You will be 30 years old; you're too old. You'll get your nose broke,' say dad's a pushy dad. You hear stupid things and put them out of your mind.”

“Sometimes, the plans in your heart aren't God's plan.”

“Sport is a great way to keep fit. It's a stress reliever.”

“The best boxers don't always qualify for the Olympics. You can easily have a bad day, but please God, that won't happen to me.”

“The heaviest I've ever been is 65 kilos. That was during my Leaving Cert when I was just studying and eating chocolate.”

“The Olympics is a dream of mine.”

“The pressure was huge going into London, definitely.”

“The thing with professional boxing is you have to have the right promoter and the right fights. It is a cut-throat business.”

“There have been a lot of challenges over the years that I have overcome.”

“There is an awful lot of pressure on me.”

“There's a lot of people on the way up who want to take my place, so it's up to me to continue to improve.”

“There's not a lot of positive role models of women in newspapers and magazines. I think it puts pressure on girls. They think that the image put out, it's the way you have to look.”

“We do the weigh-in, then go for a walk, then have breakfast, then I listen to worship songs on my iPod because I'm a Christian. I always read the same Bible verses, too. We do the same warm-up a lot of the time as well. But, I have no superstitions before a fight.”

“When I have a few weeks off, I catch up with my friends, but after a week or so, I just can't wait to get back in to the boxing club and start training.”

“When you're so consistent, people have to stand up and take notice. I don't think people recognise or praise consistency enough.”

“With amateur boxing, you're just entered into a competition. And to be the best, you've got to beat the best. You're not waiting around to get these fights organised.”

“You have to make sure you have the right people around you to get the right fights, and you're not guaranteed to get the best fights.”

“You're clearing your mind during a workout. Boxing is a great sport for girls; it's really safe.”