Sweet scent of Leaving Cert success for the youngest Rose

The picturesque Lough Rynn Castle awoke to the sound of screaming yesterday as a bunch of fresh-faced Roses were overwhelmed by the sweet smell of success — the youngest among them had just received her Leaving Certificate results and no one could quite contain their joy.

“I’m really, really happy, I’m actually over the moon,” said Wicklow Rose Megan Swart who, at just 18 years old, is the youngest contestant the Rose of Tralee has ever seen.

“The girls I was staying with came into my room really early asking did I get my results and the minute they came in, my principal had text me the results and all I could see was, ‘You should be very proud of yourself’ and I was like ‘Oh my goodness!’ There were other girls who woke up to our big screams, everybody was like, ‘Is everything ok?!’ but they were good screams.”