Rose of Tralee: Emotions run high — and there was plenty of craic too on a mighty first night
Westmeath Rose Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh with Kathryn Thomas on the first night of the Rose Selection. Caoilfhinn won the hearts of many viewers with her frank description of living with alopecia. Picture: Domnick Walsh
Between tributes to parents taken too soon, musical performances — and a reminder for every little girl to be her unapologetic self — emotions ran high as roses made their stage debut in Kerry.
On Monday night, 18 of the 32 roses took to the stage at the MTU’s Sports Academy, with 14 more roses due to chat to Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas on Tuesday.
First up was Cork Rose Lexi Linnane, the youngest contestant at age 19.
In a golden gown and with the support of the “whole of the rebel county”, the UCC student paid tribute to her mother Tracey who passed away in 2023. While Lexi’s main goal is to remember her mother, she never wishes for somebody to “feel sorry” for her.
“I want children out there to just look up at me and say, 'Well, Lexi's gone through that. Lexi can do that, so can I.'
"I've continued to pursue my passions, follow my dreams, and I'm going to continue doing that for my mom, so that's what's really important to me.”
Next up was London Rose Ciara Fallon, who is a doctor. The Dublin native did a spoken word performance and played an instrument. Growing up in Wembley, Ciara said she was surrounded by a “massive Irish community”.
“I think the school I went to was a bit of an Irish cult, actually. We learned Irish music, it was dancing, Gaelic football. Poor other kids that weren't Irish, but they had a great time,” she said.
Next up was the Clare Rose Méabh Holland, a primary school teacher from Sixmilebridge. Her father might be from Limerick and her mother from Galway, but the only hymn she could sing is “Clare My Heart My Home”.
“I absolutely love Clare. It's such a special place to me. It's where I live, it's the place I call home.
"And Clare has given so much to me, so I'm delighted to be here giving back,” she said.
Ally Padgett, the Texas Rose, wore a black dress with sparkly roses which her mother helped design.
Most of her life, she didn’t know she had Irish roots — but was “overjoyed” to find out. After watching the 1995 edition of Riverdance on VHS, she took up Irish dancing.
Dáithí quizzed Monaghan Rose Leah Murphy with some funny catchphrases as gaeilge — and she passed with flying colours.
The public cheered loudly as Westmeath Rose Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh, who lives with alopecia, tried on her favourite wigs on stage.
”It started coming out in clumps, and then by the time I was about 18, I had to wear a wig," she said.
"And to be honest, I put it to the back of my mind a little. I didn't want people to treat me differently.
"I didn't want people to pity me, and I just wanted to distract myself a little bit.
"So I became a jack of all trades, master of none, throwing myself into anything,” she said.
Dublin Rose Suad Mooge, aged 26, is a doctor at Beaumont Hospital. She grew up in Tallaght with a Somali family — experiencing a “blend” of the two cultures.
The public heard how the young woman has had to defend herself against “ awful and disgusting racism” throughout the tour.
“I'm very confident and secure in the fact that I am Irish, but it was still a bit disappointing.
"But again, me personally, I don't really choose to give power or internalise negative words.
"I'm very selective of what I choose to internalise and I'm not going to give power to these opinions.”
Next up was the Newfoundland & Labrador Rose Kathleen Murphy.
She traces her family roots back to Cork centuries ago.
“But the Irish connection is still so strong in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially in our little communities of the Irish Loop.
"It’s in the dialect, it's in the accent, it's in the foods we eat, it's in the songs we sing. And I'm so proud to have that Irish connection,” she said.
Leitrim Rose Catherine Cullen, a self-taught lilter, won the All-Ireland Senior Lilting title at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2024.
She spoke of her father, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2020, and who is an “amazing figure” in her life.
This October, the pair are hoping to take on the Dublin Marathon.
“At the time, we didn't really know what Parkinson's disease meant. It’s a neurodegenerative disease, and it just affects your muscle movements and your facial expressions," Catherine said.
"Thankfully, he's keeping well, and we're all behind him all the way, and the fern keeps him going.”
Cavan Rose Grainne Burns plans on becoming a medical scientist.
About 20 years ago, she competed in the Mini Rose of Tralee. She also is an avid knitter, a hobby she shares with her mother.
After two years in Vancouver, she now works in a hospital lab and is getting ready to go back to college.
“I have received so much encouragement from my colleagues, they've encouraged me to go back now and study to become a medical scientist.
"So, right now I'm a lab aid, so I just got accepted maybe three weeks ago now to progress and become a medical scientist, so that's next,” she said.
Derry rose Cará Hamilton recently completed a degree in Forensic Psychology and has ambitions to join An Garda Síochána.
She is a big advocate for The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, after they helped when her father unexpectedly passed away as the family was heading to an AC/DC concert in Scotland.
“They were able to bring my father from Edinburgh to Derry so we could all say our goodbyes at home,” she explained.
Yorkshire Rose Kerry Manze received good news on the trip as she got offered a job on a thoracic surgery ward. She wowed the audience with her rendition of For Good, a song from the musical Wicked.
Kerry started working with mental health organisation The Young Minds, after suffering with anxiety for years.
“I just didn't really know what to do with myself. It all came to a bit of a head, when I was about 15 or 16. That’s when I kind of got into some advocacy,” she explained.
Next up was Chicago Rose Fiona Gaffney who is almost done with her MA in Public Health.
She spoke about being diagnosed with Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), a condition for which there is no cure.
“For me, what it presented as is I gained fifty pounds in two years.
"I run marathons, I played water polo my whole life. My hormones were impacted, all of that. And so when you don't know what's going on, you're in such a state of self-blame,” Fiona said.
Kildare Rose Jessica Hunter works as a member of cabin crew with Aer Lingus.
She remembered her nan, who passed away last year — one of the reasons why she is here today.
“We used to dance around the kitchen. She'd have a drop of brandy, and we used to do a little jig while we were watching the Rose of Tralee”.
Rachel Keane, the New Zealand Rose, is from Co Waterford. It might have been her first ever time visiting Tralee, but while on tour, she met a few distant cousins.
”Throughout the tour, I actually kept having people come up to me and shake my hand and say, "You don't know me, but I know you. You're my cousin." Um, so we have a big Keane family,” she said.
Melbourne Rose Mikaela Whitty who is completing a PhD in microbiology has swapped her lab coat for the glitz and glam of the Rose of Tralee.
Her parents both hail from Ireland.
“They did what everyone did when they were twenty, they went to Australia separately and came back to Ireland, got married, and went back to Australia, had me and my brother. Came back to Ireland, built a house in Wexford, surrounded by a lot of my cousins,” she said.
Perth Rose Anna Clancy is the second rose from Cork, hailing from Fermoy.
After studying medicine in UCC, she worked as a doctor in Galway before moving to Australia.
Anna spoke of the guilt she feels for living away, as her mother has been living with stage four cancer for the past nine years.
“She has declined significantly since Christmas, she's now in a wheelchair. So I think that's definitely been hard as well, particularly being away,” she said.
Speaking of her mother, who was in the audience, she said: “She always just really encourages us to continue to live life and live life to the fullest.
"For the last nine years, she's constantly said that.” Last but not least, Donegal rose Emma Nelis danced on stage with her escort Kevin Ross.
Speaking of her experience so far, she said: “ It's exceeded my expectations. Even walking in here today for rehearsals, I was like, "Wow, wow, wow”. When you watch it as a kid… It's so surreal then being here.”
- The fun continues on Tuesday night, as The Rose of Tralee airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm
