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 [...]]]> 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