European Féile’s fifth year reflects growth of Gaelic Games

When the inaugural European Féile was held in Vannes, France, in 2022, it represented a significant leap for Gaelic Games Europe. A modest five teams took part, approximately 50 children were involved, and a competition that had first been imagined as a way of giving young players more meaningful games became a reality.

The driving force behind that first step was Pearse Bell, the South Dublin native based in Vannes, who has served as Youth Officer since 2022, and who had already spent years building youth Gaelic football in Brittany. At the time of the inaugural tournament, Bell explained that the thinking was simple: rather than sending one team back to Ireland, Europe needed to create meaningful games for its own young players on its own soil.

The second European Féile, held in Berlin in 2023, showed that the inaugural tournament had not been a one-off. Participation doubled, with nine teams taking part in the Olympic Stadium complex. Bell described it as a competition built around “memories over medals”, but it was also clear that something more lasting was taking shape. Families were putting down roots in Europe, clubs were beginning to see a real youth pathway, and Féile was emerging as the flagship event that could hold those efforts together. Vannes won the football title that year.

By the time the tournament moved to Vigo in Galicia in 2024, the momentum was realised. The biggest and best yet, with 11 teams from six countries participating. EC Brussels took the title, but the bigger story was the breadth of participation. Five Galician teams were involved, underlining the strength of youth development in the region. For the first time, there were more native European players taking part than first- or second-generation Irish players. That was a powerful marker of how deeply the games were beginning to take root locally.

Amsterdam 2025 brought the fourth edition of the competition back to the city where the European County Board had first been established in 1999. That historical link gave the occasion extra resonance, but the scale of the tournament told its own story.

For the first time, the European Féile also had a banner sponsor on board, with Jones Engineering coming in to help Gaelic Games Europe manage the pace of growth. Twelve clubs from six countries gathered for the largest Féile in the competition’s history, with more than 150 young players involved.

Support from Jones engineering helped give the Amsterdam Féile a sense of scale to match its ambition. The sidelines were full throughout the day, with parents, coaches and club volunteers joined by curious passers-by drawn in by the commotion, the energy and the games being played in the heart of the city.

Galicia took the honours, continuing the rise of youth Gaelic games in Iberia.

Adding to the importance of the Amsterdam Féile, we had the first LGFA youth fixture, moving beyond the mixed-team format that had previously been the norm. That shift marked a major step in the development of girls’ Gaelic football in Europe.

It was not simply an extra fixture added to an already busy programme. It was a sign that the girls’ game had reached a point where it could claim its own space on the European Féile stage.

The emergence of girls’ participation brought the event to a different level. It reflected years of work by clubs, coaches, parents and volunteers across the continent, and pointed to a youth structure that is becoming broader, stronger and more representative of the communities now sustaining Gaelic Games in Europe.

Reflecting back to 2022, Pearse Bell’s original instinct was that Europe should not simply send one team back to Ireland. It first needed to build meaningful games for its own young players on its own soil.

Four years on, the growth of the European Féile suggests that ambition had been realised. The competition had given young players across the continent a stage of their own and helped build a pathway that is now strong enough to reach back towards Ireland.

Later in 2025, for the first time, a European representative All-Star team travelled to Ireland to compete at the John West Féile Peile na nÓg. It brought together some of the most promising young players from across the continent and gave them the opportunity to represent Europe on Irish soil, while also forging friendships and experiences that will shape the next generation of Gaelic Games in Europe.

Better still, the European side secured their first win on Irish soil, getting the better of fellow international representatives, San Francisco.

The next step in that journey comes on May 2nd in Maastricht, a venue that has become hallowed ground for Gaelic Games in Europe.

The numbers tell their own story. Ten boys’ teams and eight LGFA teams are expected to take part, bringing together more than 210 young players, with nearly a split of boys and girls.

It will be the biggest European Féile yet, but more importantly, it will be the most balanced. The boys’ competition continues to grow, while the LGFA competition is now set to stand as a major part of the weekend in its own right. That is a significant moment for Gaelic Games Europe, and for the clubs that have worked so hard to build sustainable youth structures across the continent.

The All-Star programme will expand to include LGFA players for the first time in 2026, with a 40-strong European contingent set to travel to Derry, with the continued support of Jones Engineering helping Gaelic Games Europe take the next step in what is now a growing youth pathway.

Bell believes that sense of connection remains the hallmark of every European Féile.

“If there is a trend coming out of these events, it's that no two European Féiles are ever the same,” he says. “The growth in such a short space of time has been remarkable. We started with five teams on one pitch and now need four pitches to cater for everyone involved.

“This year’s Féile has something special about it too, with a standalone LGFA tournament. That is a testament to all the girls who play our games across Europe.

“The sense of connection and commitment to our teams is always the hallmark of Féile, but this year there is the added bonus of players competing for a place on the Jones Engineering All-Star team at the John West Féile in Derry. With the support of Jones Engineering, 20 boys and 20 girls will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”