Fantastic festival brings colour to city

The parade made for a fantastic spectacle as 160 teams from all across Ireland and from as far afield as Philadelphia and New York, proudly displayed their club colours as they marched from Celtic Park, through the city, to Guildhall Square where each team captain received a commemorative pennant from GAA President Christy Cooney.

Chairman of the Derry Feile committee Pasty Mullan said that the parade had been a fantastic success.

"The parade really couldn't have gone any better. You could see from the smiles of all the players and the various mentors taking part that they were enjoying themselves and the people of Derry gave them a great welcome. The fact that parade went so well was a testament to the hard work of everyone involved and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the many volunteers who helped make the parade such a fantastic success. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will go as well as tonight and we will have a fantastic weekend of celebrations and football culminating in the finals at Foreglen and Celtic Park on Sunday," he said.

Mayor of Derry, Cllr Colum Eastwood, said that the city was delighted to have played host to the parade.

"It is a privilege for the city to host to this festival of sport the parade brought a vibrant buzz of youthful energy to the city on Friday evening. The Feile is a celebration of youth, sport and culture and the colour and enthusiasm of the thousands of young people taking part was fantastic. As we await the result of our bid to become UK City of Culture an event like this highlighted the rich cultural heritage that we have in the region and allowed us to show our city in a fantastic light," he said.

Uachtarn Cumann Luthchleas Gael, Christy Cooney, said that the Feile Dhoire parade had been one of the highlights of his tenure to date.

"As President of the Association one gets to attend many fantastic GAA events across the country but I have to say attending that the Feile Dhoire parade was particular privilege. Having visited county Derry in the build-up to the Feile back in May I saw the level of preparations put in place by Patsy Mullan, Brian Smith Mark Gannon and their Feile committee so I knew that the Feile Dhoire would be a resounding success but I have to say that Friday night's parade was a fantastic event. To see the thousands of young footballers making their way through the city was an inspiring sight. The sense of friendship and celebration that pervaded the atmosphere was truly uplifting. I look forward to a fantastic weekend of football and I'm sure the friendships that will be built over the weekend will form bonds between clubs and individuals that will last for years to come," he said.

Coca-Cola has supported the File Pil na ng finals since 1993 and also sponsors the Coca-Cola GAA File na nGael competitions, which celebrated it's 40th anniversary this year in Clare.Erica Roseingrave, Public Affairs and Communications Manager of Coca-Cola said: "Coca-Cola is proud of its association with the File Peil na ng finals, and its sister competition, the Coca-Cola GAA File na nGael finals. In addition to encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle, every year we are treated to matches of great drama played in a fantastic spirit, with unrivalled hospitality provided by the host Clubs and County.The parade in Derry on Friday night was fantastic and we look forward to a great weekend's football culminating in Sunday's finals".

Feile Dhoire will continue at venues across the county over the weekend with finals taking place at Foreglen and Celtic Park on Sunday. For more information visit the Derry Feile website at www.feiledhoire2010.ie