It’s a small world as Roses go way back

THEY say Ireland is such a small place everyone is connected, but when it comes to the Rose of Tralee that same claim could just as easily be made about the world.

Despite hundreds of women applying for this year’s contest from locations as diverse as Queensland in Australia, Toronto in Canada, southern California in the US and Luxembourg in, well, Luxembourg, three of the 2010 finalists have a history with each other.

Liverpool and San Francisco Roses, Aine Shine and Roisín Hunt, revealed they went to the same secondary school in the Roscommon townland of Ballymurray and were both involved in the same GAA club as teenagers.

And 24-year-old blonde Aine said she also roomed with Armagh native, Sunderland Rose Noreen Feeney, for four years during college.

“I knew the two girls very well even before we came here, so it really is unique. We had no idea we were all applying until it came up in conversations,” the pharmacy masters graduate and classically trained pianist explained.

“Roisín and I are both from Ballymurray, which is a little townland in Roscommon, so we would have known each other going through secondary school.

“Roisín was also involved in St Dominic’s GAA club where I played camogie, so we have a lot of connections. We probably both personally thought of doing the Rose of Tralee when we were in school, most girls do, but we never talked about it so it really is amazing,” she said.

The first time the two Roscommon girls learned they would be competing in the same contest was in spring when Roisín – who works in San Francisco as a radio reporter and researcher – received a text from her mother revealing her own breaking news bulletin.

“I’d won the heats in San Francisco and then I heard Aine won the Liverpool one. My mammy sent the text message to me in the middle of the night to tell me, because it is just so unexpected.

“Everyone’s been wishing us well because having two roses from one small townland really is a great achievement,” she said.

Bizarrely, the unexpected scenario was repeated weeks later when Aine heard during a group phone call with college friends that her former housemate Noreen was also applying to take part.

“We lived together for four years and travelled the US together, so she’s one of my best friends.

“I just happened to be having a group phone call one night when we both mentioned we were entering the first stage of the application process. It was crazy, but it’s great to have people you know here to enjoy taking part together,” she explained.

Next time you travel through Ballymurray be careful not to fall out with the local female Mafia – apparently, they have connections everywhere.