Roses bloom in the sunshine

IT was a sunny Sunday in Tralee yesterday and while the escorts slept through the morning, the Roses were ferried around town from first light.

It’s not easy to be an escort, all that polite talk and tension while chaperoning a girl whose family is always within punching distance if things get heated.

Realistically, and behind all the festival PR speak, the general public appeared fairly unenthusiastic, especially when there’s a match like the Kerry and Tyrone All-Ireland football semi-final playing on the mind.

Even the 26 Roses got in on the act with Philadelphia contestant Sheena Trainor, 21, donning a Tyrone jersey for the big game. Student Sheena’s father Joe is from Coalisland, Co Tyrone, so she had no mixed feelings about wearing red and white in the heart of Kerry. “All my relations are here and I have no problem with wearing the jersey,” Sheena said.

It was a Kerryman who gave Sheena the shirt when she was staying in the Seven Oaks Hotel in Co Carlow last week. Hotel manager and Caherciveen native Michael Murphy wanted to ensure that Sheena could display her county colours in Kerry.

The Philadelphia girl, who studies music back home at Chestnut Hill College, can play 14 instruments and will sing a song when she appears on TV tomorrow night.

The baby of the pack, Kerry Rose Jessica Lyons, 18, admitted that the talk was all about football yesterday but she didn’t pull on the green and gold jersey.

“It’s all fun anyway but I didn’t have a jersey so I couldn’t wear it,” she said.

Saturday night’s Rose Parade through Tralee brought thousands on to the streets and Jessica said it was a special experience because she always attended the event as a child.

“It was just an amazing feeling and definitely the best part of the week so far,” she said.

The New York Rose Kathleen Tuohy, 23, was equally overwhelmed by the Tralee experience and was particularly chuffed with the sunshine that baked the town yesterday.

“To be honest you guys stole our weather. I couldn’t imagine what this was going to be like but it’s brilliant,” she said.

First on stage at 8pm tonight is Petula Martyn, 23, from Limerick and she is one of the 13 Roses that will be interviewed by festival debut host Ryan Tubridy.

Others Roses who will appear on the RTE One show tonight include frontrunners Charlotte Doherty, England; Gráinne Lanigan, Boston; Joanna O’Keeffe, Cork and Aoife Mulholland, Galway.