Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh: ’Being gay is normal to me’

Rose of Tralee organisers were unaware during the judging process that the 56th Rose, Maria Walsh, was gay, it emerged yesterday.

“It was just something that never came up,” the festival’s communications manager, John Drummey said.

Ms Walsh, 27, revealed in a Sunday newspaper that she has been openly gay for two years. She said she was confident about who she was as a person.