mary from dungloe international festival

The Dungloe Festival was launched in 1967. The original Mary Gallagher was courting a young man who had just returned from America, but in 1861, when her parents refused to let them marry, he returned to America to make his fortune. The previous year some of her family had been evicted from the Glenbeigh Estate and fled to Australia.
On 5 December 1861, Mary Gallagher emigrated to join her cousins. On the boat, she met and married Donal Egan. She gave birth to a baby but died within four months and her son only survived a few more months. This tragic love story was made into a song by a local stone mason and in 1968 it was recorded by the Emmet Spiceland group. The song gained wide popularity and became the theme of the festival.
Each year great crowds travel to the festival in Donegal where the streets are filled with traditional musicians. The festival involves ten days of magical music, song and craic. A highlight of the festival is a concert by local singer Daniel O'Donnell and the selection of the 'Mary' from a dazzling array of truly international girls.