Tipperary County Board secretary Tomas O Bairod, GAA President Seamus O Riain, and Eamon de Stafford of North Tipperary County Council established Feile na nGael fifty years ago.

50th Anniversary Féile to proceed

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary GAA hopes to mark the 50th anniversary of Feile na nGael with a special event this summer, Covid-19 restrictions permitting.

For the second year in a row, Feile na nGael and Feile Peil na nOg will not take place nationally, however, there will be Feile competitions in each county on the weekend of 21-22 August for hurling and the following weekend in football.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Féile na nGael which was started in Thurles in 1971.

The main aim of Féile was to increase youth participation in Gaelic Games. The central idea was that the other 31 counties would be invited to Tipperary for a weekend to compete against clubs from all over the Premier County.

The festival was the brainchild of then Tipperary County Board Secretary Tommy Barrett, then GAA President Seamus O Riain from Moneygall, and Tourism Officer for North Tipperary County Council, Eamon De Stafford.

All counties cooperated fully with Tipperary to ensure Féile was a success, arranging their own competitions to select the best team to travel to the Premier County for the inaugural weekend.

The first Féile took place on the weekend of 16th- 20th July 1971. All the participating teams took part in a parade and marched through Thurles wearing their club colours. The teams carried a banner to show the crowds lining the street, the county they were representing.

A GAA museum was set up where among the items on display were old hurleys and sliotars and the jersey worn by Michael Hogan when playing for Tipperary at Croke Park on Bloody Sunday.

It was a busy weekend of hurling in Thurles and the first Féile set the scene for years to come. The winners of the four divisions in 1971 were Blackrock (Cork), Comeda (Antrim), Dungiven (Derry) and Tipperary’s own Portroe.

Féile has grown from strength to strength over the years and is a highlight in the GAA calendar annually. Féile is the most prestigious competition at underage level and it is a great honour for counties to host the festival of hurling and football. It has now grown to include Camogie, Ladies Football, Rounders and Handball.

A core aim of Féile is to promote a philosophy whereby every player has the opportunity to participate and play in their respective tournament at a level commensurate to their age, skills and strengths.