Girl who rang Peace Bell for Queen has Achill connection

PROUD MOMENT Leah Ennis McLoughlin, whose grandparents hail from Achill, at Aras an Uachtarain where she rang the Peace Bell along with Danny Rea during Queen Elizabeth’s visit last week.

Achill grandparents proud of bell-ringing granddaughter


Anton McNulty

THE Achill grandparents of a schoolgirl have spoken of their pride and delight after she was given the honour of ringing the Peace Bell in Áras an UachtarΡin during Queen Elizabeth’s visit last week.
Leah Ennis McLoughlin, whose grandparents Patrick and Mary McLoughlin are originally from Achill, rang the Peace Bell as the Queen planted a tree on her first day of the State visit. Leah (14) who lives in Dublin is a second year pupil at St Mary’s School for the Deaf in Cabra and was given the honour of ringing the bell after her name was picked out in a raffle of all the schools pupils.
Her proud grandmother Mary, who originally comes from Tonragee in Achill, was watching the proceedings on television and told The Mayo News that she was thrilled and proud of Leah.
“She was absolutely delighted and was very nervous in the beginning but she did not come across nervous at all. I was watching it live and it was a very proud moment for all of us to have her name called out. It was lovely. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and something to tell her children and grandchildren for years to come. As she said herself, it was phenomenal to meet the Queen,” she said.
Leah, along with Belfast teenager, Danny Rea, who is also deaf, were chosen to ring the Peace Bell as the queen planted the tree in the grounds of Áras an UachtarΡin in a formal ceremony. 
The President Mary McAleese asked the school to pick a pupil to perform in the ceremony and Leah was the lucky one to have her name picked out. Leah told The Mayo News that she was shocked when her name was pulled out of the hat and was nervous at the beginning of the day. She described the whole experience as ‘phenomonal’.
“The Queen was tiny and she kept smiling all the time,” Leah explained. “She said ‘hi’ to us and asked us our names and where we were from and then we talked to her husband. President McAleese signed to us and said thank you and that we did a great job.”
Leah’s father, Peter is also deaf as are two of her three siblings who also attend St Mary’s School. Only Leah’s teacher was allowed to be present at the ceremony so her family had to watch it on the television.
Grandfather Patrick was in his home village of Keel during the ceremony and was also proud of his granddaughter but admitted that he missed the action live on television.
“We knew she was selected but I missed it live on television. I didn’t know there was a tree-planting ceremony but if I was warned beforehand I would have watched it. I saw it later on the news and it was a proud moment. I bought all the papers I could find to show the pictures to people. Leah enjoyed it immensely and it was a real rollercoaster for her,” he said.