Local student Lisa crowned this year's Mary from Dungloe

They don't come much more local than this. Twenty-year-old Lisa McKelvey was yesterday still trying to take in the fact that she had been crowned as the 2004 Mary from Dungloe.

This was the 37th staging of the festival, but this was the first time that the winner had actually come from the main street of the west Donegal town.

Shortly after being crowned by Daniel O'Donnell at midnight on Sunday, she was escorted through the town in a floodlit parade in front of several thousand festival goers.

And as they passed the Bridge Bar (or the Riverside Bar as it used to be known), it was a particularly special moment for the Dungloe Mary. This was where she had grown up.

"Our family was always involved in the festival and I can remember when we had Marys staying in the place and watching them getting ready for the festival," she recalled.

The crowning of the Mary is the focal point of the Mary from Dungloe International Festival which runs for 10 days, and attracts "Marys" from the US, Australia, the UK and Ireland. And the magnitude of a local woman winning was reflected by the celebrations.

It was well after 6 a.m. on Monday morning before Lisa got to her bed. "I was completely shocked when my name was announced. I really wasn't expecting it. It was an absolutely great night," she said. "Daniel drove us all around Dungloe afterwards. He was great."

And there was a surprise in store for her two brothers, Eamonn and Patrick, who had been left baby-sitting in their respective homes as their wives had gone to the crowning cabaret. "We just landed up and went into their living rooms," she said.

Lisa, who is studying Politics and English at Queen's University, Belfast, now lives with her parents Connie and Grace at Brinaleck in nearby Gweedore.

Although Tory Island can be seen in the distance, she had never made the journey until last week when it was one of the highlights of the Marys itinerary.

"We had a great time there and sang and danced with the 'King of Tory', Patsy Dan Rodgers. You just have to visit Tory, it's great. The girls all had a great time and even though people may not believe it, all of us really got on really well."

The Dungloe event has endured some testing times in recent years, but Lisa has no doubt that the future is bright. "The crowds were huge on crowning night, the biggest I have seen for a long time." Daniel's annual "Home in the Dome" concerts have become one of the cornerstones of the festival. And his legions of fans often book their tickets a year in advance.

Indeed, the combination of free open-air concerts, family-orientated events, Daniel's concerts and good old Donegal hospitality are among the reasons why it remains one of the country's premier festivals.