'Raring to get back to work': Apprentice electrician Katelyn Cummins wins Rose of Tralee crown

Katelyn Cummins, a 20-year-old apprentice electrician from Laois, says she will balance her career with her new Rose of Tralee duties.

Katelyn Cummins has been named as the 2025 Rose of Tralee. Picture: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

The new Rose of Tralee, Katelyn Cummins, said she is already “raring to get back to work” after becoming the first Laois Rose to win the title on Tuesday night.

Ms Cummins was crowned on the second selection night on Tuesday at the Kerry Sports Academy at MTU.

The 20-year-old apprentice electrician, who hopes to pursue an engineering degree, was in tears as she received the news.

Her first words were: “Oh my God.“ 

Asked who she wanted to thank, she hastily said “My mum, my dad . . . and 31 girls behind me.”

It came at the end of two selection nights of the Rose of Tralee International Festival which were aired live on RTÉ from the Kerry Sports Academy at the Munster Technological University (MTU).

When asked on RTÉ's Morning Ireland how she will balance global ambassador duties with her career, Ms Cummins replied: "My career will be a priority for me."

"I suppose I'll stay going with my apprenticeship the way I have been for the past two years, and continue my duties as the Rose of Tralee on the side. 

"Since the age of 16, becoming an electrician has been a priority for me more than anything, but it is an absolute honour to be the Rose of Tralee as well," she said.

The 2025 International Rose of Tralee is Katelyn Cummins selected on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night on Tuesday 19th of August. Picture: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD

Ms Cummins said she “never expected this” and has watched the festival “every year for as long as I can remember.”

The newly crowned Rose said she is “delighted” to represent her family, community, and county of Laois.

Ms Cummins, who revealed a tattoo of a rose stem on her back during Tuesday night’s live show, also spoke about losing her grandmother Kathleen to gastric cancer in June 2023.

"She was an avid gardener, and she had beautiful roses in our garden, red, pink orange, yellow white, every colour under the sun. 

"I absolutely loved them, and they smelled fantastic, and I suppose when she passed away I wanted to get a tribute to her and I thought the roses would be a lovely touch," she said.

According to Ms Cummins, the Roses represent the fact that "Irish women are so strong, that we are unbelievably talented, unbelievably intelligent, and that we can do anything we put our mind to, no matter what other people say."

This year’s winner succeeds the 2024 Rose of Tralee Keely O'Grady.

Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins pictured jiving on stage with her Escort Tommy Meade at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night on Tuesday 19th of August. Picture: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

In her farewell message, the former New Zealand rose described her past year as “the most exciting ride of my life” and said the festival itself is all about “celebrating the full spectrum of what it means to be a real modern woman”.

She advised her successor to “say yes to everything, be unapologetically you, laugh loud, sing louder”.

She also said “the magic is in the sisterhood”.

More than a million of viewers are expected to have tuned in over Monday and Tuesday night, with the last night usually getting more than 500,000 viewers on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player.

The four-person judging panel that picked this year’s Rose of Tralee were former Rose of Tralee Clare Kambamettu, RTÉ’s Nuala Carey, fashion designer Don O’Neill and Aisling Murphy of sponsor Murphy’s New Homes.

Earlier in the evening, co-presenter Dáithí Ó Sé brought out a surprise birthday cake for Limerick Rose Leah McMahon’s daughter Ella, who was eight.

She had attended the festival but had not seen as much of her mother due to the 29-year-old’s busy schedule and the audience in the MTU venue sang Happy Birthday to her in what was one of the highlights of the evening.

Asked what the contest means by co-presenter Kathryn Thomas, Leah later described it as a celebration of “a sense of empowerment and fulfilment”.

The 2025 International Rose of Tralee is Katelyn Cummins selected on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night on Tuesday 19th of August. Picture: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

The financial planner added: “We need festivals to celebrate women. We are not asking to be more, we are just asking to be on the same level.” Among those to feature in this year’s contest were 32 roses in total, who included four mothers, a cancer survivor, a stroke survivor, a diplomat, a number of academics and financial consultants.

As well as being crowned this year's rose, this year’s rose also wins a world travel prize valued at €25,000 and gets the use of a €40,000 Kia Niro Plug-in hybrid for the year.