{"id":581492,"date":"2026-08-03T09:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581492\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:09:10","slug":"new-mary-from-dungloe-eva-osullivan-shares-important-organ-donation-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581492\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mary from Dungloe Eva O&#8217;Sullivan shares important organ donation message"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>London Mary Eva O\u2019Sullivan has officially been crowned the 2026 Mary from Dungloe.<\/p>\n<p>The 21-year-old was presented with the Gay Byrne Perpetual Crown by 2025 &#8216;Mary&#8217; Ellie Ward during Sunday night\u2019s sparkling crowning ceremony in Dungloe.<\/p>\n<p>Eva has strong Donegal connections through her grandparents, who are from Gortahork.<\/p>\n<p>Eva used her stage interview to raise awareness of organ donation, a subject which is deeply personal to her family.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Daniel O\u2019Donnell on stage, she revealed that her brother received a kidney from her uncle\u2019s wife around four years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are forever grateful to her for giving this amazing gift of life,\u201d Eva said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe difference it has made to my brother\u2019s quality of life is just amazing, and it\u2019s enabled him to live his teenage years to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eva said one of the most effective ways to raise awareness of organ donation was through open conversations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou never know when it may resonate with someone, or someone may need someone or know someone who may need an organ,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just great to spread awareness of it, and you never know, someone could make such a difference to another person\u2019s life like it has done to my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eva added that her family is part of a buddy system which supports other families going through similar experiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can talk to other families going through a similar thing, just be that support and share our experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt could just really help others go through the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-644140 in-content-img not-prose w-full\" height=\"1166\" width=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/new-mary-from-dungloe-eva-o-039-sullivan-shares-important-organ-donation-message.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-serif font-normal text-base leading-6 text-tertiary not-prose\"> Eva O\u2019Sullivan during her on-stage interview with Daniel O\u2019Donnell at the 2026 Mary From Dungloe crowning ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Eva is training to become a primary school teacher and has one year remaining in her studies at St Mary\u2019s University in Twickenham.<\/p>\n<p>She currently works in a school four days a week and attends university one day a week, an arrangement which allows her to bring what she learns directly into the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Eva said teaching was a career she had always wanted to pursue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-sans font-semibold text-xl md:text-[30px] leading-9 text-primary w-full\">\n        You may also be interested in\n    <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/news\/road-reopens-as-probe-continues-into-fatal-pettigo-crash-644145\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Road reopens as probe continues into fatal Pettigo crash\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/road-reopens-as-probe-continues-into-fatal-pettigo-crash.png\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Road reopens as probe continues into fatal Pettigo crash\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/news\/cloudy-and-wet-today-with-highs-of-17-to-23-degrees-644143\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Cloudy and wet today with highs of 17 to 23 degrees\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cloudy-and-wet-today-with-highs-of-17-to-23-degrees.jpg\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Cloudy and wet today with highs of 17 to 23 degrees\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to be a primary school teacher and I just love supporting the children, helping them reach their full potential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo two days are the same. The children give me great laughs every day and I just absolutely love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eva also leads the choir and orchestra at the school where she works and said it was rewarding to see children develop confidence through music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very passionate about music and it\u2019s so lovely to see the children thrive in something outside of the classroom and just really show off their skills and their talents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s my favourite time of the week doing choir and orchestra rehearsals because I just love seeing the children shine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Traditional Irish music has played a major role in Eva\u2019s life from a young age.<\/p>\n<p>She plays the concertina, flute and tin whistle and was crowned the All-Britain Concertina Champion in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Eva told Daniel that she grew up surrounded by Irish music, with both her father and grandfather playing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that\u2019s where my love really came from,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-644139 in-content-img not-prose w-full\" height=\"1206\" width=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785748150_843_new-mary-from-dungloe-eva-o-039-sullivan-shares-important-organ-donation-message.png\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-serif font-normal text-base leading-6 text-tertiary not-prose\"> Eva&#8217;s delight after being named the 2026 Mary from Dungloe.<\/p>\n<p>Eva has also taught traditional Irish music to children for around three years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love seeing children develop the same love of Irish music which I did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not all about the music. It\u2019s about seeing the children develop their confidence, make lifelong friendships and just have real good fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As part of her musical performance, Eva played \u201cEleanor Plunkett\u201d, a favourite tune of her granny and grandad.<\/p>\n<p>She dedicated the performance to her grandparents and in remembrance of Moya Brennan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s also a tune which was played so beautifully by Moya Brennan,\u201d Eva said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know she\u2019s a wonderful person, a wonderful musician and a great support to the festival.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Eva&#8217;s journey at the 59th Mary From Dungloe International Arts Festival was sponsored by Crannull, Lead Generation in Construction and the Built Environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London Mary Eva O\u2019Sullivan has officially been crowned the 2026 Mary from Dungloe. The 21-year-old was presented with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-581492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}