By Lauren Harte
lauren@letterkennypost.com

It’s not everyone who can say that they will be celebrating their first birthday this year when they are already four years old.
But that’s exactly what one local girl will be doing this week when she blows out a single candle on her birthday cake. Nessa Louise Irwin from Kilmacrennan will have her first ever real birthday party tomorrow, Friday February 29.
Nessa is the youngest of three children. Her two older brothers Caolan and Rhys call her ‘Zero Biro’, insisting that she is in fact Zero as she has never had a birthday.
Nessa attends Naonra an Tearman and will have another landmark event in a few months time when she starts primary school in Kilmacrennan NS in September. She’s also the third generation Nessa in the family following her mother and grandmother of the same name.
A love of singing and dancing means she is keeping up a long tradition of music from both sides of her family in Donegal and Limerick, where her father Ivan hails from. A big fan of Eminem and Cher, Nessa wants to be a princess when she grows up.
Her mum Louise told the Letterkenny Post this week that Nessa is very excited even though she’s not exactly sure what all the fuss is about.
“I have been trying to explain to her about the extra day this year and how it will be her first real birthday. She is agreeing with me but I don’t think she quite understands yet. “She was due on February 29 2004 and arrived at 2.10am that morning. I had no idea of the significance of the day until a few hours later when someone mentioned it. For the last three years we’ve marked her birthday on March 1 but this time it’s her first real birthday so it’s going to be very special.
“I’m sure she will continue to surprise us as the years go on and the novelty of being a leap year arrival will certainly wear off once she realises she won’t have an 18th or a 21st! We’ll just have to make each one extra special.”