THERE’S been a continental feel to the committee room at Letterkenny Gaels in recent weeks following the election of the club’s new secretary.
Maltese mother-of-two Louisa Tonna admits that her knowledge of Gaelic Games needs a bit of work.
However, she says she is loving her new role after taking on what’s probably the busiest position within the club.
“It’s a whole new challenge for me, but so far, it’s gone really well,” Louisa said.
“I have to say, the rest of the committee have been so kind and really helpful so I have managed to get on okay so far.”
Louisa’s introduction to Letterkenny Gaels came through her children Gianluca (9) and Isaac (5), both of whom have started playing underage with the club.
The family’s move to Donegal is a story in itself. Louisa and her husband Karl were holidaying in Ireland around ten years ago and so taken were they with the friendliness of the people and its beauty that they decided there and then that Ireland was where they would live.
“We both started looking for work in Ireland then,” Louisa explained.
But with two kids born in the meantime, their plans were put on the back burner. Like so many others, the global pandemic changed their view on life and they decided it was time to make the move.
A friend of Karl, born and raised in Letterkenny, recommended this town in the North West. So the whole family moved here, initially working remotely, in December 2021.
Louisa decided against going back to work, preferring instead to stay at home to look after their two young boys.
“It’s been brilliant, we’ve loved every minute of it,” Louisa said.
“The boys love it here and that’s so important.”
Gianluca and Isaac attend Scoil Cholmcille NS in Letterkenny and Louisa also recently joined the school’s Parents Association.
Her election as secretary of Letterkenny Gaels came after the underage team’s WhatsApp group sent out a message saying the club were inviting applications for the position.
“It was Karl who said to me that I should look into it,” Louisa (pictured) said.
“My career background was as a company secretary, so he thought it might be something I could do.”
Louisa, who took over from outgoing secretary, Declan Barrett, knows that the job brings a heavy workload.
“But it’s been good so far,” she said.
“A secretary has to deal with so many different things, but the other members on the committee are there to help me which is great.
“Having the boys playing in the club has been so good.
“We were keen to get to know other people in the community since moving here and they have made new friends, not just at school, but at Gaels too.”
Away from football and school, the family have been busy preparing to move into a new home after buying a new property in Kilmacrennan.
“We just love Donegal, it’s a beautiful county,” Louisa said.
“We can go for a walk on the beach to Rathmullan or to Ards Forest Park. We’ve been to Glenveagh too. There is so much to do, and we are only discovering all these lovely places now that we can enjoy.”
It was the great Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh who once talked about Fiji and Fermanagh during a match
commentary, referring to the fact that neither were great hurling strongholds.
Malta wouldn’t be known for its links with Gaelic Games either – but that might be all about to change thanks to the Tonna family in Letterkenny.
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