Here come the girls… and this year there’s 50 of the lovely ladies.
The Rose of Tralee is celebrating its 50th birthday and this year 50 girls will be in the competition to mark the occasion. The festival runs from 21st to the 26th August and starts with the International Rose Ball, parades and musical entertainment, and the final itself takes place on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
The contestants are judged on their overall personality and suitability as ambassadors, and the festival is a celebration of the “aspirations, ambitions, intellect, social responsibility and Irish heritage” of modern young women.
The event is very diasporic with Rose Centres around the world, and anyone can enter if they are Irish descent. Alice O’Sullivan won the rose in 1959 but its origins go back to the early 1800s and the story of Mary O’Connor.
Things have changed and these days the girls really are modern. How modern? well Facebook modern to start with. Amy Moran from Cork, for example, is giving you the chance to get to know her well before she steps foot on the stage in Kerry. You should pop over and say hello!
The Rose of Tralee is distinctly Irish and unique in its style. You would’nt be thinking about it much during the year but it’s great fun when it happens.
Wishing ye all the best of luck (especially Amy, ah well just a bit biased!) and sure you’ll have a great time and a night to remember!
If you fancy a bit of a singalong – the Rose of Tralee
On the night update!
Well would you adam and eve it, London half inched it! – a big congratulations to our new Rose, Charmaine Kenny. Nice one!
London - Charmaine Kenny
And here’s the rest of this years lovely line-up…
Arizona - Alexis Hodel
Armagh - Lisa McClelland
Birmingham - Anna Mullins
Boston - Meaghan Murphy
Cavan - Tara Cunningham
Channel Islands - Leanne Tunney
Chicago - Deirdre McNulty
Coventry Rose - Una Casey
Darwin - Anne McNamee
Derby - Cathrina McGuinness
Dubai - Clodagh Fleming
Dublin Rose - Susan Roe
Edmonton - Katherine Quirke
Florida - Kersten Rowley
France - Melodie ONeill
Georgia - Sinead Lynch
Germany - Jessica Kreuz
Kerry - Karen McGillycuddy
Kilkenny - Stephanie ODwyer
Leicester-Hannah Oguz
Liverpool - Maeve Gallagher
Luxembourg - Siobhan OReilly
Manchester - Aideen Reilly
Milton Keynes - Candy Murphy
New Jersey - Genevieve O'Reilly
New Orleans - Megan Busby
New York - Ashling Colton
New Zealand - Lisa Monaghan
Newcastle - Nerice Logue
Newfoundland - Lori O'Keeffe
Ohio Rose - Annie Dunn
Ottawa - Sarah Thorenton
Perth - Rose McDonnell
Philadelphia - Jocelyn McGillian
Queensland - Kelly O'Shea.
S Australia - Lisa Dunne
S California - Brittany Kelly
San Francisco - Emer Cunningham
Sandwell - Helen McMenamin
Sligo Rose - Sinead McGill
Sunderland - Regina O'Hara
Sydney - Romy Farelly
Texas - Leslie McDonough
Tipperary - Denise Shouldice
Toronto - Sarah Sullivan
Washington DC - Tara Maguire
Waterford - Orna Middleton
Yorkshire - Nicole Moriarty
Lisa from South Australia for me. I know I shouldn't say it, but she is cute!
lisa is me cousin x
The Boston Rose is a great girl, very impressive!
yes she sure is she is our cousin what a personality we loved her disco routine great or what?
Yeah, Meaghan Murphy – lovely girl, she's the one!
Melodie O'Neill, the France Rose. She's natural, gentle, true rose material!!!
Karen McGillycuddy, Kerry. Apart from everything else I just love her hair!
Beautiful, and naturally intelligent of course!
Ah guys you have to wait!
You can't choose yet!
Watching now! All the girls are just great, they're having a ball!
paddy power betting german rose 2/1/from 16/1 in the space of 20 mins betting suspended at one stage
Hi Jimmy,
don't blame them – she was good fun!
dont blame them ! i took the hint had a few euro at 10/1
how come 50 roses turned into 32, disgusting there was not even a mention on those other girls
stephine should of won itxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
they wanted to have 50 roses because of the 50th year and all that but some where here just for fun not the actual competition, mad i know
The rose of tralee is a brilliant opportunity for all the girls involved- they get to represent their own community and celebrate all things irish.
i really am soo confused though cos why are there 50 roses and then only 32 get to go on t.v??
does anyone know how and why they narrow it down? is it like a process of elimination?
nicole moriarty is my cousin
go her
Thought that the chairman of the board in his speech could have thanked and praised Ray Darcy –no fan of his –but thought twas bad form!
There were only 32 interviewed on tv as that is all RTE have air -time for. The new centres had their regional finals in tralee so that all the girls could travel to and experience tralee, but only 32 could actually be part of it. Does this make sense? Even the ROT organisers couldn't explain it when I asked them several times! So essentially, instead of having regional finals before hand and not exp Tralee at all, the regional finals were held in Tralee in the lead up to the normal International rose.
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for that, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about the 50/32 thing but your explanation clears things up. I guess what really counts is whether the 18 who did'nt make it to the televised part still enjoyed the experience – which hopefully they did anyway.
Overall i'd say it was a success and there's always a few crinkles in any large event to learn from. To the annual critics i'd say look at the bigger picture – the festival works for Ireland, the people who take part enjoy themselves, there's a global fondness for it, and it increasingly draws a bigger audience. Where's the problem?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for that, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about the 50/32 thing but your explanation clears things up. I guess what really counts is whether the 18 who did'nt make it to the televised part still enjoyed the experience – which hopefully they did anyway.
Overall i think it was a success and there's always a few crinkles in any large event to learn from. To the annual critics i'd say look at the bigger picture – the festival works for Ireland, the people who take part enjoy themselves, there's a global fondness for it, and it increasingly draws a bigger audience. Where's the problem?
omg wot is WRONG with the judges..are they luners……karen that kerry rose shuld have won. she totally stood out from the crowd so natural and graceful. i dnt think therl ever be a kerry rose of tralee if she didn get it this year. fantastic show tho..no poem in sight thank god!! u have to give it to them..they do organise a great festival. well done:)
Karen was amazing on stage..she sang beautiful, full sure she was going to win…have been watching the Rose of Tralee since was a wee girl and she is the first Rose I'd take my hat off to..if Karen didn't win this year…no Kerry rose will ever win..its diffently politics in the rose of tralee
Stand out for me was Sydney. She was down to earth, natural and funnier than Ray Darcy. The London girl seemed a bit snobby?? Maybe Im wrong but she didn’t come across as genuine on tv.
Karen all the way!!!! love her!
hi Annette,
just a quick response for now (away at moment) – some if the info is available on the official Rose of Tralee website – if you click on the 'this years lovely line-up' link above, and then click on the photos you'll get some of what you're looking for there.
All the best,
Mick.
chamanie kenny is pretty