 McDonagh fought Michael Gomez on 28 January 2006 for the Irish lightweight title on the undercard of a Bernard Dunne fight at the National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.Gomez had been out of the ring for almost a year and was due to fight Scottish Willie Limond for the WBU lightweight title but turned down that opportunity for a chance to fight for an Irish title.After the fight was signed Gomez stated ""I just can't wait to get my hands on that Irish title because I've been desperate to fight in Ireland for years"".