Javier Mcgarvey of Basle attacks with the ball against Vannes at the 2023 European Féile.
By John Harrington
The weekend just passed was another big one for Gaelic Games in Europe with the second ever European Féile competition for U-15 footballers and hurlers taking place in Berlin.
One year one from the inaugural competition which featured four teams, this year’s Féile saw nine teams participate – hosts Setanta Berlin, Gwened Vannes, Brussels, Den Haag, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Basel, Galicial, and Munich Colmcilles.
“It was brilliant weekend and a great event,” says Gaelic Games Europe’s Youth Officer, Pearse Bell.
“It took place in the Olympic Stadium complex in Berlin where Jesse Owens won his gold medals in 1936. It's a huge Colosseum of a stadium and a fantastic place because there's so much history in the complex in itself.
“Setanta Berlin, our host club, went above and beyond the call of duty in everything they did to deliver a great competition. They organised two meals for all the players on the day and everything ran smoothly.
“Sinead Kavnagh and her daughter Aoibheann did Trojan work in particular, and are both a real credit to their club.
“For the kids it was about memories over medals. They all really enjoyed themselves and it was a great buzz too for all the parents.
“You're talking about people who are putting down roots in Europe. They're not students coming in and out of a club after maybe doing an Erasmus year and then leaving the club again.
“These families are going to be in Europe for generations so it's a great outlet for them to have, this Féile competition, and it’s a brand we want to keep building.
“All the boys and girls just had great craic. There were little kids there who were doing it for the first time and from the smiles on their faces you could just see the enjoyment and pride.
“There were two really small kids there, Finn McCabe and Aron Lynch, and they were just really talented young players who would make you really optimistic about the future of Gaelic games in Europe.
“Finn was with Frankfurt and Aron was Basle. They were two tiny lads, the youngest in the age-bracket, and they held their own against the bigger lads.”
The Vannes team that won the European Féile football final.
Host club Setanta Berlin won the Fergus Burke Memorial Cup in hurling, while Bell’s own club, Gwened Vannes, were crowned football champions.
Their success is all the more notable for the fact that all of their players, apart from Bell’s own son, are native Bretons with no tradition of Gaelic games in their families.
“It just goes to show you that with proper training, a good youth structure, and kids being motivated anything is achievable,” says Bell.
“Last year we were probably a little naive going into it. We had only previously played all French-born teams and we came up against kids from Belgium from Irish families and they hockeyed us.
“So, my lads came back and said, 'Right, what do we need to do? We really want to win this.'
“So there were a few home truths spoken and we told them they'd have to improve their fitness and be a bit more tactically clever about holding positions in defence and counter-attacking which you need to do against the Irish lads because it's just second nature to them.
“So, they took that on board and trained hard two nights a week and it was great that hard work paid off.
“You could see they've gotten to a decent level now in terms of both their football skills and the fundamental movements. I was really impressed with the standard of the players from all the teams that took part.”
Action from the European Féile Final between Vannes and Brussels.
Bell only sees the Youth GAA scene in Europe go from strength to strength in the coming years with the annual Féile competition the flagship event.
“There's definitely scope for further growth in the coming years,” he says. “I know more and more clubs are going to set up youth structures. Zurich and Stuttgart have already told me they'll be setting up youth structures and I'm sure other teams will as well.
“It might take four years for those clubs to start producing players for Féile, but it will definitely grow steadily. And until the clubs are ready to field full-teams themselves, they can bring whatever youth players they have to the Féile and they can join in with other teams.
“I've no doubt that more and more clubs are going to buy into this because they know they have it now. They can get more kids involved in Gaelic games and know they have a trip abroad in Europe for them which is fantastic.
“If we added two more club every year I think we'll be doing really well. And then I would expect that many of the existing clubs like our own would be able to send two teams in the years to come, so it will grow that way too.
“It's a really exciting time for youth development which is one of the pillars of Gaelic Games Europe's strategy.”