'She’s already a winner to us'

Approaching Kerry’s county town, the stunning panoramic views of rolling hills as you descend into the valley of the Slieve Mish and Stack’s Mountains form an idyllic, serene backdrop to one of the Kingdom’s largest annual celebrations of Irish culture and community.

The centre of Tralee is booming, with heavy traffic and flags flying high on buildings and from car windows. Aside from distinct Kerry voices, there are a flurry of accents coming from supporters who have travelled from far and wide.

Within the first hour, it becomes clear that almost everyone is here for the same reason - the 66th Rose of Tralee International Festival.

“Who are you supporting?” this reporter is asked on arrival. The answer being, of course, Cavan Rose Gráinne Burns from Cavan Town and Monaghan Rose Leah Murphy from Emyvale.

Along with 30 other Roses, the pair spent the week before the festival touring around parts of Ireland before arriving in Tralee just in time for the Rose of Tralee Parade, which took place on the day of their shared birthdays (Saturday, August 15).

The Roses were joined in Tralee by 32 Rose Escorts, seven of whom were from Cavan and Monaghan; Oisín Kiernan of Ballymachugh, Conor Smith of Lavey, Gavin Brady of Redhills/Belturbet, Enda Shalvey of Maudabawn, Dave McKearney of Castleblayney, Shane McKenna of Truagh and Shane Treanor from Scotstown.

For the past 67 years, Tralee has become a home away from home for young Irish women eager to wear the coveted sash and be presented to the world as the pick of the bunch.

The idea for the former ‘Festival of Kerry’ originated from a 19th century Irish ballad, which told the forbidden love story of two townspeople, William Pembroke Mulchinock, the son of a wealthy merchant family, who fell for his sister’s nursemaid, Mary O’Connor, the daughter of a broguemaker and dairymaid.

Inspired by An Tóstal celebrations in the 1950s, the first Rose of Tralee was held in 1959 and was only open to Tralee natives.

It has since grown to include women from every county in Ireland as well as many countries around the world - where Rose Centres have sprung up for the Irish diaspora.

The two selection nights, which were broadcast live on RTÉ, took place last Monday, August 17 and Tuesday, August 18, just after this newspaper went to print.

On Monday night, among 16 other Rose hopefuls, Gráinne and Leah took to the stage alongside hosts Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas.

Cavan man Gavin Brady, who was matched with London Rose Ciara Fallon, was announced on the night as Escort of the Year. He received a €1,000 prize and will be invited back to next year’s festival.

Speaking to The Anglo-Celt the following morning at the Meadowlands Hotel, base camp for all the Roses and Escorts, Gavin said that receiving the award was “genuinely a wonderful honour”.

“It’s humbling to be chosen for such a prestigious award by your peers,” Gavin says.

“It’s not often Cavan win an All Ireland so we’ll take it, and to beat Kerry as well - all the better.”

The support the local escorts received from home has been “phenomenal”. Thanking his main sponsors, The Olde Post Inn, EJ Menswear Sligo and his GAA Club Belturbet Rory O’Moores, Gavin says he “wouldn’t have been able to do this without them".

“When you’re standing on the stage, you’re thinking of all them people. I’m very much thinking of all the people at home in Redhills, in Belturbet.”

In the weeks and months beforehand, Gavin had received many welcome messages of support.

“People don’t realise it but it’s so nice when you get a text, that someone actually sat down and thought of you," he says.

That morning, online applications to become a Rose Escort for 2027 crashed due to the amount of people on the website. Gavin has “thoroughly enjoyed” the “once in a lifetime” experience of being a Rose Escort, and encourages anyone considering it to go for it.

“It’s hard to describe [the experience]. The GAA used to have a tag line that nothing beats being there, and it’s the same.”

“I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it. It’s like a wedding a day for seven days.”

The Escorts, having first met at a bootcamp in Kerry in June, only met the Roses for the first time the Thursday before the festival, but with 16/17 hour long days together, they all became close quickly.

“The relationship between everyone is so good, we all get on really well,” Gavin says.

“We all know what we signed up for. You have to have great empathy for the girls, they’re being judged all the time so you have to be able to support them.”

Catching up with the birthday girls

Later that day, this newspaper caught up with Gráinne and Leah, also in the Meadowlands, after their appearance on Monday night’s live broadcast. Gráinne’s dress on the night was from Club L London and Leah’s was made in Purple Peach in Ballybay.

Gráinne described her entire experience of being the Cavan Rose as “surreal” and "amazing".

“Until you’re actually in it, it’s hard to explain what it’s like here,” she says.

“To form friendships has been really nice, and the whole lead up to it is lovely too, with the support, and then getting here has been another level altogether.”

Leah shared similar feelings about her time as Monaghan Rose.

“Everyone told us beforehand it was going to be the best week of our lives and it honestly really has been,” Leah enthuses.

“We have made 31 new friends all around the world, we’ve a bed to stay in Newfoundland and Melbourne and Texas.

“I feel very lucky to be able to represent the county and hopefully have made them proud on TV.

“I can’t believe it’s the last day, we didn’t think it would come to an end and it’s crazy that it actually is coming to an end, so it’ll probably be an emotional one tonight.”

The concept of being on live television the night before “did not click” with Leah.

“I didn’t actually register that it was live TV, but I felt so special, it was so lovely to be able to look down at the crowd and see the Monaghan flags, see the family and the guys who’ve come down to support me.”

“It was a bit overwhelming, a bit emotional, but very happy that we did it.”

Gráinne, meanwhile, felt some last minute nerves before easing into her time on screen.

“I was a ball of nerves beforehand and then, when I got on stage, it was nearly like something came over me like: Right, got to do this now, and that was it.

“We had rehearsals in the morning time and that settled me a little bit as well, and then getting up there, seeing all the posters, the crowds, the cheering, all the girls in their dresses, it’s very exciting altogether.”

Westmeath winner

The Celt also spoke to Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh in the hours before she was named the 66th Rose of Tralee about her “amazing” time since being named Westmeath Rose.

“I think I didn’t have a full appreciation for what goes into being a Rose until I started the tour and came to Tralee because there’s so much that isn’t shown in the media and on the telly nights,” Caoilfhinn says.

“There’s a lot that goes into it and you really appreciate the volunteers and the community that gets behind the different events," she continues, adding that they have had an "absolute blast."

“I’m really sad it’s coming to an end but it doesn’t have to end here. I hope to bring a lot back to my community and get more involved, but also I get to do different events with my Rose sisters in future.”

Being on stage was not something Caoilfhinn was worried about because of her experience with theatre. “I went into performance mode,” she reflects.

Caoilfhinn received an outpouring of "overwhelming" support since her appearance on Monday night’s show, where she shared her experience with alopecia and removed her wig on stage.

"What I wanted to do was my little piece for my community and let them know that there’s support out there for them.”

She felt it was worth doing. "I didn’t want to be known as the one who did the wigs because, obviously, they’re not going to remember all our names," the Westmeath Rose revealed.

"I didn’t really want to be reduced to that because I am so much more. There’s a lot that goes into me and makes me me and makes me resilient, and that is only one very, very small bit of it. It’s just something that happens to be very visible.

“There’s definitely a lot more to my story that I would hope to educate people on and let them know that you can be a Rose no matter what - your imperfections, your background, and to never doubt yourself.”

The excitement in the Kerry Sports Academy at Munster Technological University (MTU) was palpable on both nights but a particular buzz was felt on the Tuesday night as the hundreds of people gathered anticipated the results of the four-strong judging panel, made up of RTÉ Broadcaster Nuala Carey, Aisling Murphy from sponsor Murphy’s New Homes, fashion designer Don O’Neill and 1974 Rose of Tralee Maggie Flaherty.

The atmosphere was electric, the room was full of banners and the ceiling was sparkling when cheers erupted as the Roses who weren’t on stage entered arm in arm with their Escorts.

Underneath their seats, Escorts kept bags of essentials for their Roses, with everything from makeup to fans, which were used regularly in the heat of the room.

Family

Among those gathered on the night were the families of the local Roses, both of whom had spent the last few days in Tralee.

“It’s been so exciting to see her flourish and it’s been overwhelming the amount of support that has been outpouring from Monaghan,” Leah’s sister Janette tells this newspaper.

“Even to get this far, the experience she’s had over the last six months has been amazing.

" I know she has made friends for life, and I also feel like I’ve made connections, it’s been so family involved.”

“It’s been so amazing to see all the local projects and local visits they do, and I feel like I’ve learned so much about Kerry as well. It’s been great.”

During festival week, the Roses are paired with pubs in Tralee. Leah, and the Chicago Rose Fiona Gaffney, were paired with The Grand Hotel. Gráinne, and the Newfoundland & Labrador Rose Kathleen Murphy were paired with The Greyhound Bar.

On the previous Sunday, friends and family were given the opportunity to spend some time with the Roses in their twinned pubs.

“There was so many people there that didn’t really know us that just came to support,” Janette recalls.

“And it was so great to be able to socialise with the other Roses' families.”

Gráinne’s fiancé Paul Sexton says it has been “unbelievable” to see the support she has been receiving from the wider community, and to see how much people are “getting behind her and pushing her along”.

“It’s really out of her comfort zone and I think this is going to give her so much more confidence to go after what she wants," Paul says.

“We celebrate her everyday but this has shown her how much people love her and respect her and lift her up in the world.

“She’s up on a stage in my head everyday but it’s so good to see her appreciated. Nowadays, we celebrate people on social media or reality TV, and sometimes the people closest to us are overlooked, so this is amazing, to see how proud everyone is and how much love and support she has.

“We love her so much, we’re so proud and she’s already a winner to us no matter what happens.”

This reporter was fortunate enough to have a front-row seat both nights, beside Mayor of Kerry Cllr Mikey Sheehy, who described the festival as the “heartbeat of Tralee”.

“It’s what everyone looks forward to every year,” Mikey says, congratulating the "community effort" from the town, and the work of the Rose of Tralee International Festival and Féile Thrá Lí in organising a week-long calendar of events.

“It’s a celebration of diversity, of very powerful and strong women, and it is a part of our dúchas here in Kerry.

“Some of my fondest memories back in the 90s were seeing people coming off trains and getting to campsites, setting up tents and enjoying their time in Tralee town.”

After 11pm on Tuesday night, the time had finally come to announce the winner. The 32 Roses joined Dáithí and Kathryn on stage as they waited with bated breath for the results.

When Caoilfhinn’s name was called, the Roses swarmed around her to the tune of the Rose of Tralee.

Speaking to this newspaper after being named Rose of Tralee, Caoilfhinn said it was an “amazing” honour to receive for her home county.

“I’m just a small town girl really, to be honest,” Caoilfhinn says.

“I work in a shop, I’m very involved on the ground in grassroots, and that’s what I hope to continue to do. I don’t want to lose that part of me.

“It’s going to be mad when I get back,” she gushed.

The town was packed, music and cheers filled the streets and fireworks lit up the sky as Caoilfhinn was presented as the 66th Rose of Tralee.