Pearse Bell, European Youth Officer, Gaelic Games Europe, with Vannes players (l-r): Clémentine Jegou, Faustine le Metayer, Tara L’Hoist and Iseult Rodrigues Photo by Tan Vo
Pearse promoting Gaelic Games across Europe
GAELIC football is attracting growing numbers of non-Irish players across Europe, particularly at the youth level, with girls’ participation also increasing, reports Taylor O’Shea.
For the first time, a group representing Europe Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) will come to Ireland for the John West Féile Peile na nÓg finals, which will be held at venues across Ireland on Saturday, June 27.
It has become one of the biggest underage sporting events in Europe, expanding to countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Pearse Bell, who is a volunteer youth officer with Gaelic Games Europe from Rathfarnham, said that 90% of Gaelic football players in France are French. He added that many people in Brittany and Galicia identify as Celts.
Bell’s job as a youth officer is to identify new clubs, promote initiatives in schools and look for ways to provide more game time to young students.
“In France, 90% of people playing Gaelic football are French. My club, Gwened Vannes, has 120 members, but only eight are Irish,” said Bell.
Youth participation has also surged, with more than 200 players competing in the under-15 category at Europe Féile in Maastricht, with over half of the kids having no connection to Ireland. 35 out of 100 clubs across Europe have established youth setups as well.
In Britain, youth participation increased 28% between 2021 and 2025.
Since 2022, participation in Gaelic Games has grown from five teams to 17 teams, Bell stated.
“It was our first time to have LGFA teams in the European Féile finals and the gender split was almost 50-50, so we are sending a ladies’ team to Ireland for the John West Peile na nÓg finals for the first time this year,” said Bell.
“I get to about 10 schools a year. There’s a clear structure developing now. Last year, the Armagh player, Rory Grugan, who is a French teacher, came here for three months, visiting schools, that really moved things on,” added Bell.
The growth of youth programs across the continent shows Gaelic Football’s popularity in Europe and how it is likely to continue rising.
“My colleague Charlie Jameson, who is based in Munich, does huge work, and we are thinking of opening European Féile to school sides.”
