Past Rose of Tralee winners reflect on success of the festival

When the Rose of Tralee International Festival was launched in 1959, nobody realised how long it would run for or how much it would mean to so many people, the first ever Rose has said.

“Right from the word go it got a tremendous amount of publicity and I think it was very good for the town of Tralee, it kind of gave it an identity,” says Alice O’Sullivan. “And I think it’s just brilliant that it’s kept going.

“It’s not just a pretty girl’s competition, but it gets that kind of reputation. But they’re all really strong, intelligent women.”