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The Mary From Dungloe International Festival is a popular Irish music festival held annually, usually at the end of July in the small town of Dungloe, County Donegal. The festival is centred on a pageant to find out which contestant has the spirit of the festival, who is then crowned "Mary From Dungloe". The winner of the contest holds this title for a year and acts as an ambassador for the festival. Irish emigrant communities from around the world as well as some Irish counties and towns participate by nominating a young woman, endearingly titled a "Mary", to represent their community at the contest. The festival has grown in popularity over the years and now regularly attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the area. The festival is inspired by the song "Mary from Dungloe" as the Rose of Tralee festival is by "The Rose of Tralee". 2016 seen the festival celebrate it's 49th anniversary, building huge anticipation for the 50th anniversary in 2017 to be the most successful festival to date.
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Participating Irish communities
Many Irish communities around the world with links to County Donegal have their own local contests to pick their community's "Mary" who subsequently is nominated to travel to Dungloe to compete in the Mary From Dungloe contest final. Irish communities who have entered contestants include:
Traditional festival events
There are a number of traditional events which are run every year as part of the festival. Here are just a few examples:
Contest winners
Below is a complete list of contest winners from 1968 to 2007.
Entertainers and musicians
Many Irish and international acts have performed at the festival over the years. The traditional annual crowd puller, however, continues to be internationally renowned folk singer Daniel O'Donnell, who made his festival debut in 1985.
Famous comperes
The Mary From Dungloe contest final has been compered by a number of famous faces.