A 20-year-old teacher from Kilkenny city won the 2004 Rose of Tralee title last night.
Ms Orla O'Shea was presented with a designer tiara and a bouquet of flowers at the Festival Dome in Tralee.
Ms O'Shea, the first Rose from Kilkenny, looked shocked when her name was announced. She will spend the next year acting as an ambassador for Ireland at functions around the world.
When she appeared on the first night of the competition, Ms O'Shea had moved many people when she described the loss of her mother, who died from cancer.
She completed her Bachelor of Education studies in June and was due to take up her first position as a primary teacher in Swords, Co Dublin next month.
The four-day Rose of Tralee festival, which first began in 1959, draws in young women of Irish descent from around the world. This year saw 27 Roses, 11 of them from Ireland, vying for the title.
The judges emphasise the winning Rose is picked for her good character and personal qualities rather than her beauty alone.