Dundalk was plunged into mourning by the untimely death of Linda McDonnell on December 2, 2008. A native of Ballsgrove in Drogheda, Linda (nee Farrell) was the wife of former Gaels and Louth footballer Davy McDonnell. She was aged just 44 and leaves behind three young children - Shane, Katie and Holly. At the age of just eleven, Linda won an Ulster championship medal for Irish dancing. She also won the Dundalk Maytime Festival and was once 'Mary of Dungloe' in 1984.