Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney answers back critics of the festival

The 2016 Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney has said the festival is apolitical and not the place to air political views.

Ms McEldowney (27), the Chicago Rose, said she has her own views on political issues but will not be sharing them because she claims it is not what the festival is about.

Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins became the first Rose to stray into political territory last week when she called for the repeal of the eighth amendment of Ireland's Constitution that gives equal rights to a mother and her unborn child.

In a follow-on article published in The Irish Times on Saturday, Ms Parkins said the festival risked being on the "wrong side of history" if it does not allow contestants to air their political opinions.

Ms McEldowney responded on Monday by suggesting that Roses were entitled to their views, but not to air them on stage.

She stated: “This event is not to celebrate the ambitions and political beliefs of the modern day Irish woman. Could you imagine if all 65 of us had a political agenda on stage? That is not what this festival is about and that is ok.”

After being selected for the Rose of Tralee, Ms McEldowney said she would take the “neutral ground” on the issue of abortion.

“My political stances (which I have) will not be in the headlines because this festival is not about me and my opinions,” she said.

“ It is about the celebration of my class, modern day Irish women, the marvelous women who had the title before me, and the remarkable list of wonderful things we are all doing (in our careers, in school, in local charities and causes) in our respective parts of the world.

“In no way is the Festival stealing our voices, they are just asking us to respect the festival and what it stands for while we are representing it. I genuinely feel that is not asking too much.”

In a statement issued through the festival office, Ms McEldowney said the controversial selection process to decide who went through to the live final was flawed.

Down Rose Fainche McCormack said she and the other Roses were “treated like animals in a circus” and the Roses in the final were “manipulated, bullied and mistreated”.

The Roses were divided into two rooms; one with the 32 finalists and the other room with the 32 who were not chosen.

In a post on the Rose of Tralee Facebook page, since deleted, Ms McCormack said neither she nor the other Roses signed up "for a cheap reality television show in which our emotions would be manipulated for entertainment".

Ms McEldowney responded by stating that the Sunday morning, when the selection process was made, “was difficult for everyone involved”.

She explained: “We signed up for this knowing there’s a good chance we will not go through, since the judges are required to basically cut the group in half. The issue was with how the news was delivered. No one is downplaying that or trying to make light of that.”

She revealed that Rose of Tralee chief executive Anthony O’Gara apologised to all the Roses for how it had been handled.

She added: “ He promised on behalf of the Festival that the entire process was going to be reviewed and things will be resolved for the Roses who participate after us. He offered us the opportunity to hand in our sashes and enjoy the rest of the festival with our families.

"At that point in time, there was nothing else that man or his team could do. The damage had been done, and he was 'unreservedly apologising from the bottom of his heart' for it. He made it clear that 'this level of treatment was not to the Rose of Tralee Festival standards', and was 'so, so sorry'."

She criticised the media and said some of her fellow Roses were being made out to be “ungrateful, catty princesses who are only in it for the show”.

She added: “We, my classmates, the chaperones, the volunteers, the committee members- we the International Rose of Tralee Festival, have all worked too hard over the last 12 months and particularly the past two weeks giving every ounce of energy we had left into this festival, and I will not allow the media to depict any of these people in anything but the greatest light their little pens can descriptively portray.

“I hope over the next 12 months, I am able to very clearly embody through my actions what my class is made of, what the beautiful people of the festival stand for, what the unforgettable International Roses before me have accomplished, and give this festival the outstanding media attention it deserves.”