Rose of Tralee contestant with rare condition to highlight plight of sufferers as festival kicks off

A Rose of Tralee contestant is set to use her week in the spotlight to highlight an extremely rare medical condition that impacts on hundreds of Irish people’s lives.

Cork Rose Edel Buckley said helping to improve the public’s understanding of myasthenia gravis, an auto-immune condition that causes severe muscle weakness, is top of her agenda as the week-long festival kicks off today.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the Donoughmore native, a sufferer of the illness, said not enough research was taking place into the impact of the condition on people.