Ireland will host the European Junior Surfing Championships 2026 this autumn, as Bundoran welcomes national teams from across Europe from 24 September to 4 October. The ten-day championship, sanctioned by the European Surfing Federation (ESF), will see Europe’s top junior surfers compete at the iconic Bundoran break known as The Peak & Tullan Strand, bringing one of the continent’s most prestigious youth surf events to Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
Organised by Irish Surfing in collaboration with Saltwater Festival, the event represents a major milestone for the sport in Ireland, positioning Bundoran at the centre of European junior high-performance surfing. Hundreds of athletes, coaches, officials and supporters are expected to travel to Donegal for the Championships, delivering significant sporting and tourism impact to the northwest region.
Guests announced already include:
RóisÃn Ingle
Columnist, features writer, and podcaster with The Irish Times. Author of Pieces of Me, Public Displays of Emotion, and co-author of The Daughterhood. Her latest book, My Perfect Place in Ireland, gathers favourite Irish locations from well-known Irish voices. RóisÃn also produces and co-presents the award-winning Women’s Podcast.
Michael Harding
The writer, podcaster, and storyteller returns to Ballyshannon this November. A member of Aosdána, Michael has had five plays staged at the Abbey Theatre and is the author of a much-loved series of memoirs from Staring at Lakes to his most recent, I Loved Him From the Day He Died. A familiar voice from his Irish Times column, he lives near Lough Allen in Co. Leitrim.
Elaine Feeney
Novelist and poet from the West of Ireland, and lecturer at the University of Galway. Her debut novel As You Were won the Kate O’Brien Prize and the McKitterick Prize. Her second novel How to Build a Boat was longlisted for the Booker Prize and named a Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker. Her third novel, Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way, won the Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year.
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A member of Aosdána, Michael has had five plays staged at the Abbey Theatre and is the author of a much-loved series of memoirs from Staring at Lakes to his most recent, I Loved Him From the Day He Died. A familiar voice from his Irish Times column, he lives near Lough Allen in Co. Leitrim. Elaine Feeney Novelist and poet from the West of Ireland, and lecturer at the University of Galway. Her debut novel As You Were won the Kate O\'Brien Prize and the McKitterick Prize. Her second novel How to Build a Boat was longlisted for the Booker Prize and named a Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker. 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