‘The Rose of Tralee is a celebration of Irish women’: Search for the next Rose enters its final phase

The search for the next Rose of Tralee entered its final phase on Monday evening, as the first of two selection nights got under way at the Rose Dome, at the Kerry Sports Academy – in a televised programme filled with stories of personal strife, success and triumph.

Of the 32 Roses, 18 took to the stage, where they were quizzed by long-time Rose of Tralee host Dáithí Ó Sé and, for the first time, a co-host – Kathryn Thomas.

Cork Rose Kate Shaughnessy (25), a nursing home care co-ordinator from Ballincollig, opened the night’s programme – “a huge honour”, in her own words.

Ms Shaughnessy’s parents Niamh and John – both Tralee natives – watched on, 40 years after they first met at the Rose of Tralee festival. Before the show, Una O’Mahoney, Ms Shaughnessy’s aunt, spoke of her family’s pride in the Cork Rose.

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“She’s one in a million ... She is a born Rose of Tralee – if there was a list of criteria, she’d tick every box,” Ms O’Mahoney said, holding a Cork flag as she stood outside the Kerry Sports Academy complex on Monday evening.

Katie McFadden (22), the San Francisco Rose, took on Ó Sé in an unconventional contest onstage – a race to get dressed into a Kerry Fire and Rescue Service uniform.

Ms McFadden is a firefighter with San Francisco Fire Department. “Everyday is a new day ... it’s amazing.”

Offaly Rose Allie Leahy (24), a receptionist at a vets’ in Tullamore, told Thomas of her experiences with bullying in secondary school, something that ultimately inspired her go for the Rose of Tralee.

“You go through these things in life, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without those things happening,” she said.

There was a customary song and dance section. Fiona Weir (23), the Boston & New England Rose and a qualified nurse, got on her hard shoes and danced to – fittingly – Shipping Up To Boston, while Limerick Rose Molli-Ann O’Halloran (19), a traditional singer, treated the audience to a rendition of Part of Your World from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

“I’m really happy to be supporting everybody in the autism community,” said Ms O’Halloran, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at eight years old.

As the auditorium filled up on Monday evening, John and Noreen Dunne, from east Cork, posed for a photograph. They were at the Rose to support Katie Casey, the Melbourne Rose.

It was the couple’s first time back at the Rose of Tralee since they met at the festival 43 years ago, Mr Dunne said. “That was our first date.”

Earlier on Monday, sitting side-by-side on an upholstered leather couch somewhere deep within Rose HQ – the Meadowlands Hotel off Oakpark Road, Tralee – Ó Sé and Thomas were speaking about what the Rose of Tralee means in 2023. At reception, escorts lingered, while Roses moved between hair appointments or make-up, media duties, lunch with judges.

“It’s a celebration of Irish women,” Ó Sé said, not yet in his tuxedo. “And when is a celebration of Irish women out of date?”

Thomas also brushed off the recurrent criticisms of the festival. “I don’t think we have to make everything political,” the first-time Rose host put forward.

“These are women who want to get out and do this, they want to do it for their community, their family, their [own] selves, their careers, to further their music, whatever it is.

“This is about choice,” she said.

The festival has also moved with time, opening itself up, Ó Sé said. “There was a time when you couldn’t be married, now you can. There was a time when you couldn’t have a baby, now you can. We have invited trans women to come forward.”

Charlotte Burton, the South Australia Rose, is the first married woman to participate in the Rose of Tralee.

As Tralee woke up slowly on Monday following the previous night’s revelry, the Roses were on the ground early, running through rehearsals at the Tralee campus of Munster Technological University – a run-through only partially disrupted by a fire alarm-induced evacuation around lunchtime.

The Rose of Tralee International Festival continues on Tuesday, with the winning Rose set to be selected at the conclusion of the second live TV event.