EuroSurf Junior 2026: A European Surfing Celebration in Bundoran

By Richie Fitzgerald

It was a long time between drinks for the European Surfing Championships in Bundoran — 15 years, to be exact. The last time Irish Surfing hosted the European Senior Surfing Championships was back in 2011, also in Bundoran. The town had previously played host to the senior event in 1985 and 1997.

The big difference this time around was that, for the first time ever, we hosted the Junior Eurosurf Championships. Running from September 26 to October 4, Europe's best underage surfers converged on Bundoran for a European bonanza of surfing.

20 Countries, One Surfing Community

Teams from 20 countries competed for team honours and individual titles. The big three — France, Spain and Portugal — brought very strong teams. However, the carnival atmosphere in town and pumping surf throughout the event made it a true surfing and cultural exchange, with countries like Turkey competing in only their second European Championships ever.

Running alongside the surfing competition was the music, art, film and cultural Salt Water Festival, which brought 10 days of unique musical and cultural events to venues across town, both day and night.

A Brilliant Performance from the Irish Juniors

The Irish junior team surfed brilliantly throughout the competition, finishing sixth overall, with four Irish surfers making finals day.

Rory Murphy reached the semi-finals in the U18 Boys division, while Josh Karbus finished second overall after a thrilling U18 Boys final.

Isabella O'Reilly took third place in the U16 Girls final and delighted her home-town crowd throughout the week with a series of heat wins.

Southcoaster Dave Fanning made it all the way to the U18 Boys Longboard final, finishing fourth. He also had his home-town crowd in Tramore, Co. Waterford, dancing on the tables!

Congratulations to Everyone Involved

Huge congratulations to everyone involved in Irish Surfing and the Salt Water Festival for putting on such a memorable event and bringing the European surfing community together in Bundoran.

All photographs courtesy of Darragh Gorman and Irish Surfing.