It was a baton-twirling, nail hammering, Irish dancing couple of nights down in the Kingdom as we counted down to the winner of this year’s Rose of Tralee. Here are the best bits of this year’s event . . . .
Dáithí has a Mayo flashback . . .
Everyone knows that proud Kerry man Dáithí Ó Sé is still smarting over Mayo’s famous and historic victory over the Kingdom in July’s All-Ireland final (as he said, “I still have a twitch in my eye”) and Carolina Rose, 28-year-old Grace O’Halloran, teased him about it in the nicest way possible on Tuesday night. Asked to sing one of the songs she had learnt since arriving in Ireland, she immediately burst into The Green and Red of Mayo. Dáithí looked on with a sporting smile, only for James Patrice to wheel on the Sam Maguire cup itself.
“You’re killing me,” cried Dáithí, before turning to Sam and saying, “I love you, I love you! Please come back to us.”
The fastest dress change in the south
Toronto Rose Kylie Paliani is a very talented young lady – she has a degree in biochemical engineering and is a very skilled Irish dancer who has attended no less than 11 World Championships. However, she also proved that she has a possibly record-breaking talent for outfit changes. Kylie slipped out of her glittering floor-length blue gúna in 14 seconds to appear back on stage in a fetching pink and green Irish Dancing get-up for a quick once around the parlour. She also had some wise words for the watching world: “You don’t have to give up your dreams to pursue your career, and you don’t have to give up your career to pursue your dreams.”
Chloe Moran was Louth and proud
Exploding on to the stage in a hot pink dress and matching wellies, Louth Rose Chloe Moran probably could have powered the whole of Tralee if the lights went out. The Biomedical Scientist has a year to go in her nursing course and she more than proved that laughter is the best medicine. The self-described “Dundalk townie’ explained how she decided to enter this year’s competition after she was encouraged by a neighbour at a wake for a mutual friend. “So I applied the next day as I was dying on the couch,” she laughed. Chloe also volunteers for St John of Gods and four of the men she looks after were out in the audience looking good in tuxes. She was mighty craic alright but she was almost overcome with emotion as she said that taking part in the Rose of Tralee was the best experience of her life.
San Francisco Rose does a very, very different Billy Joel cover version
San Francisco Rose Sarah Johnson works as a restaurant manager back home on the west coast and she is also a music nut, who goes to as many gigs as she can. She certainly proved her music chops on the stage on Tuesday by performing a very good version of Billy Joel’s Piano Man while accompanying herself on harmonica and changing all the lyrics to turn it into a witty tribute to her fellow Roses. She should do We Didn’t Start the Fire as an encore.
And here’s Monday night’s best bits . . .
Cork Rose Lexi remembers her late mother
There was a moving moment with the very first Rose of this year’s event – Lexi Linnane from Cork, who at 19 is the baby of this year’s Roses. She paid tribute to her late mother, Tracey, who passed away after a stroke. “My main goal is to remember my mom,” she said.
Lexi is studying Early Years and Childhood Studies while also teaching dance and working in content creation, but she is also passionate about fundraising for stroke awareness and support and recently raised €4,500 for Cork Stroke Support.
She changed out of her very eye-catching gold dress and donned a floaty purple number to perform a Contemporary Dance to Prince classic Purple Rain, a song that meant so much to her and her beloved mother.
Westmeath Rose Caoilfhinn receives a standing ovation
Further proof that anything can happen on the night came when Westmeath Rose Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh took to the stage. The 26-year-old, who has just bought her first home with her partner, spoke about living with autoimmune disease alopecia, telling host Kathryn Thomas, “I didn’t want people to pity me.”
She began losing her hair when she was 15 and was wearing a wig by 18. Caoilfhinn now balances her work in retail with studying to become a wig maker. She is also a founder of The Hair Loss Haven, a group offering support, events, and meet-ups.
“People say it’s just hair, but it’s so much more than just hair,” she explained, adding encouraging words about body image.
She then used the Rose of Tralee stage to raise awareness of alopecia by showing and then trying on her favourite wigs before revealing her bald head in all its glory. “Embrace the imperfections,” she told the audience to a standing ovation.
Dublin Rose delivers a powerful message about racism
Well before this year’s Rose of Tralee even started, Dublin Rose Suad Mooge became the most famous contestant – and for all the wrong reasons. She is of Somali descent and has faced racist criticism since she first won the Dublin Rose title. On Monday night, she had some strong words for her critics.
“I’m very confident and secure in the fact that I am Irish,” she told Kathryn Thomas. “I have experienced racism before but don’t choose to internalise negative words. I am not going to give power to those opinions.”
Suad, who wore an emerald-green Simone Rocha dress and a black headscarf, also spoke about growing up Irish and Somali. “I never felt the need to choose between the two.”
To back up her wise words, the medical scientist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin then did a dance that combined both Irish and Somali styles.
The Derry chicken box
Derry Rose Cará Hamilton brought a hometown culinary delight to the stage when she recruited Kathryn Thomas into helping her prepare a Derry chicken box. This . . . interesting looking concoction is a medley of crispy fried chicken and chips, slathered in melted cheese and taco sauce, garlic mayo, and chili. 21-year-old Cará is from Top of the Hill in Derry City and she recently completed her degree in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice. She also received some good news while on the Rose tour – she’s through to the next stage of An Garda Síochána selection.
Some Leitrim lilting
The musical highlight of Monday night came from the very musical Leitrim Rose, Catherine Cullen. The physio student at UCD is multi-instrumental, but on Monday night she treated us to a spot of lilting or, as we say in Ireland, portaireacht bhéil. This style of unaccompanied singing uses nonsense syllables and looks and sounds like its very tricky to pull off but Catherine delivered a minor masterclass live from the stage, before whipping out a tin whistle to further show off her talents.