Molly Russell will represent North East England at the forthcoming Mary from Dungloe festival.
Molly works at Newcastle United Football Club and is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider, a role and cause she is deeply passionate about.
Irish dancing has been a huge part of her life from a very young age. With 16 years of competitive experience, Molly has competed at regional, international, and World Championship level, achieving success as a regional champion along the way.
As the first North East England Mary since 1993, Molly follows in her mother’s Samantha Pairman’s footsteps when she not only took the North East England crown but took the big crown at the festival.
Having grown up with the festival, Molly is thrilled to now take part as a Mary herself.
Molly is sponsored by The Tyneside Irish Centre.
Molly told The Irish World that it was all still sinking in.
She said: “I think in the last week or so it has dawned on me that this is actually happening and in just a few short weeks I’ll be over in Dungloe having the best time.
“Now I just can’t wait to get over there and meet all of the other lovely Marys.
“When I found out I was going to be the 2026 North East of England Mary I felt so proud and grateful to be able to represent this beautiful part of the world.
“Over the years, me and my family have attended the festival and visited Donegal on holiday.
“I also competed at the Mary from Dungloe feis and took part in the festival on the Irish day, dancing in the street.
“One year I had the opportunity to take part in the parade which was a great experience.
“All round I absolutely love the festival, the culture and the people of Donegal and I’m delighted to be a Mary this year.”
There has not been a North East England Mary in some years and Molly keeps up a proud family tradition by becoming one.
“It is really an honour but l am actually the second Mary to represent the North East of England region, the first being my mum!
“She (Samantha Pairman) represented the North East in 1993 and went on to win!
“I’m so excited to be following in her footsteps and from all the stories she has told me, it is sure to be an unforgettable week and I’ll make memories to cherish forever.
“I think the whole experience is very exciting but I’m most looking forward to meeting the other Mary’s and exploring the region in a different way than I have done before.
“I recall stories from my mum’s time as a Mary where the bus journeys and the time spent together was a great opportunity to bond with the other girls and was filled with singing, jokes and just generally good craic.
“I’m also looking forward to seeing some of the sites that I haven’t had the chance to visit recently like Glenveagh Castle and the Poison Glen and learning more about the local area.”
On her background Molly said: “I grew up in the North East of England, near Newcastle Airport, but my Nana hails from Achill Island in County Mayo.
“She got me into Irish dancing at the age of 3 and I was hooked.
“I danced for 16 years competitively, achieving success as regional champion along the way.
“Irish and country music was the soundtrack to my upbringing.
“With Dad’s Scottish roots and my mum’s love for Irish music, it meant that it was always part of our car journeys to and from school, competitions and dance classes.”
Molly works for Newcaste United FC and has done for eight years.
“I absolutely love the buzz of match day and was lucky enough to be in attendance when we won our first trophy in 70 years at Wembley in 2025.
“The football culture in Newcastle is very similar to that of the passionate support for Donegal in GAA.
“Newcastle United have been lucky enough to have some fantastic Irish players, like goalkeeper Shay Given who is a regular visitor at St James’ Park.”
Asked what would it mean to be selected as Mary from Dungloe, Molly said: “It would be an absolute honour and a lifetime dream to be selected as Mary from Dungloe 2026.
“I feel that the North East of England and Donegal share a lot of similarities and being given the opportunity to share the beauty of Donegal with the North East of England and the rest of the world would be amazing.
“Having said that, my main goal is to thoroughly enjoy a fantastic week experiencing the festival and everything that comes with it.
“Just being a part of it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The Mary from Dungloe festival takes place 25 July- 3 August. For more information, click here.
