In search of the perfect Mary

Derek O'Connor goes to 'sweet Dungloe' where the streets are filled with concert-goers and would-be Marys.

'And I wish I was in sweet Dungloe and seated on the grass, And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass, I'd call for liquor of the best and I'd pay before I'd go, And I'd roll my Mary in my arms in the town of sweet Dungloe."

It was The Revs who decided to drag the Mary From Dungloe International Festival kicking, screaming and pogoing into the 21st century. As the energetic power-pop trio from nearby Ballyshannon whipped an audience of several hundred local teens into a tizzy, the foundations of the Festival Dome, the main venue - not so much a dome, more of a marquee with attitude - literally buckled under their considerable enthusiasm.

Amiable Revs frontsman Rory Gallagher blamed the whole thing on local hero Daniel O'Donnell. Earlier in the week, the dome's annual sell-out concerts by Daniel had offered a very different sound.

Before every town, village and thoroughfare in the nation had a festival to call its own (or so it appears these days), there was the Mary From Dungloe International Festival.

For 35 years now, this modest town on the Donegal coast has played host to tens of thousands of visitors as festival fever brought Dungloe to life.

Every year, for 10 days, local taverns of renown such as Beedy's and the Braeside fill with hordes of homecoming sons and daughters, alongside a smattering of visitors from every corner of the globe, all gathered to celebrate an oft-neglected corner of the country, one that never quite reaped the benefits of the boom years.

"The festival helps to keep Dungloe on the map," says Dermot Delaney, who, as the latest manager of Sweeney's hotel on Dungloe's Main Street, maintains a family tradition going back some two centuries.

"It means an awful lot for the people here, too. At times over the past five or 10 years it's been so busy that the town almost couldn't cope with it. Too many people and it ends up messy, basically. We've had the big acts over the years, and they can overwhelm the place; this year feels like a nice size."

Indeed, many locals have felt that there were times when Mary From Dungloe appeared ready to disappear in a sozzled blur of half-devoured chicken snack boxes and crushed plastic lager containers, but in recent times the hard-working souls at the festival committee have fought to restore it as the family event it once was.

"In the end," says Dermot Delaney, "people love stuff like raft-building races on the pier and egg-throwing competitions on the Main Street - completely silly things. It just takes the people to make them happen in the first place. That said, there's a lot of folk doing a wild amount of selfless work. Me, I'm lazy," he laughs.

Indeed, Mary From Dungloe 2002 will be remembered as much for a day of events staged by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - this is, after all, big fishing territory - as for the nightly musical entertainment on the Gig Rig that dominates the Main Street. The bottom line is that the sun, for once, is shining, and everybody's out and about, having a ball.

Then there's the rather pressing matter of crowning a new Mary From Dungloe, named for the teary ballad that gave the festival its moniker.

"Mary is an ambassador for Dungloe, an ambassador for Donegal, and an ambassador for the north-west of Ireland," says festival manager Kevin Connors. "We take the selection process very seriously."

Over the 10 days, 12 women from locations ranging from Antrim to Bayonne, New Jersey, are feted locally before a panel of judges - among them long-time summer resident Gay Byrne - begins the interview process.

"The elements of a good Mary," muses Kevin Connors, "are personality, intellect, an ability to deal with people, her ability to deal with situations and interact with the general public, people she's never met before. And, of course, the looks would come into it then."

Melbourne Mary Gabrielle Cosgriff, fresh off the back of a festival float, is having a ball. "It's been wonderful: enjoyable and exhausting at the same time. I'm just loving spending as much time as possible with the other girls. It's not competitive at all, we're just like a big group of friends."

Indeed, as one witnesses a group of Marys tottering up the road towards the town, giggling merrily all the way, you'd be inclined to believe her. The grand parade took place through the centre of the village yesterday afternoon, with the Marys gracing the floats. And later last night, the selection and coronation of the one true Mary took place . . . but indeed, they are all lovely girls.

Elsewhere on the parade route, Daniel O'Donnell, as ever, had the crowd in raptures. While everyone might possess an opinion on the phenomenon that is Wee Daniel, it's fair to say that nothing can truly prepare you for the live experience.

The goodwill that the man from Kincasslagh has generated for the festival over the years - not to mention the sheer number of punters still willing to brave the merciless route to Dungloe, eager to pay homage at the source - has long provided a foundation for Mary From Dungloe's continuing success, and he remains its star turn.

Witnessing the bond he shares with his audience, and his capacity to rock the house in his unique manner, you realise that The Revs's Rory Gallagher might have had a point about who really made the dome floor give way.

The Mary from Dungloe Festival takes place every year at this time. The office number is: 075 21254, email: mfd2000@eircom.net