The Rose of Tralee’s second evening is always when my skepticism dissolves, and I savour the scarlet lemonade. As the Rose from Tipperary exhibits her spoon-playing skills and then disrobes to perform a dance, in a manner akin to Bucks Fizz, I can’t help but exclaim in surprise. Similarly, I gasp at the sight of the London Rose audaciously delving into the realm of the uncanny by interpreting the tea leaves of Dáithí Ó Sé. Further intrigue arises as Ó Sé daringly speaks Mandarin, prompted by the Rose from New York, potentially preparing to stumble upon a diplomatic faux pas.
Prior to the day’s rehearsal, I query Ó Sé on the rumour of his abstention from alcohol for six weeks in the run up to the festival. However, executive producer Michael Kealy’s response, marked by a raised eyebrow, contradicts Ó Sé’s claim.
“He said that, did he?” Kealy retorts.
As the festival proceeds, typically, Ó Sé can be often found enjoying a pint or two by the time the song ‘Rose of Tralee’ reaches its second verse. “I believe I had a few before we concluded one year,” Ó Sé recalls. “Last evening, the ice was for my injured knee, tonight it has a vital role in cooling my white wine”.
Kealy reminisces about the past year. “I recall heading to bed around 2.30,” he says. “The final image etched in my mind was Kathryn Thomas being twirled around the dance floor.”
Later, I encounter Thomas while she’s receiving a touch-up from two makeup artists from RTÉ. “It indeed takes a village,” she remarks, shedding light on how they allocated the live interviews. Certain physically demanding tasks couldn’t be assigned to Ó Sé because of his old age, she diplomatically implies, masking it as a recent injury.
In the rehearsals, the final 14 Roses each practice the acts for the evening show. They all exude an air of self-assuredness, but weeks of public appearances can sometimes shake their confidence. Thomas and Ó Sé, however, are ever watchful.
Thomas encourages Rose, promising to guide her through her somber conversations. He assures another Rose helping her with all her tasks. At Meadowlands Hotel’s ballroom, the Roses, their selecting panels and their loved ones participate in a luncheon and a trivia game. They battle in a spirited dance-off to the track ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A man after midnight)’ with champagne glasses held high and napkins waved with glee. One chap even takes to a chair for a playful dance, catching everyone’s attention. The quiz, ultimately, is won by the judges’ team, who jubilantly celebrate with an extended celebratory jig.
Attending the Rose of Tralee as an observer, let alone a participant, can be quite stirring. A Rose expressing her emotional state gets comforted by a friend. Stephen, the sibling of Sydney Rose, Ashling Heneghan, describes the event as a long-drawn affair, noting the inevitable return to reality.
Brian, an 88-year-old gentleman, visits the venue with the hope of securing an entry ticket. He nostalgically remembers the past where a ticket would have been ensured by Anthony O’Gara, the CEO, who had to step back due to recent heart surgery.
Barry Lysaght, the escort of the year, is applauded for his striking moustache. He explains that an escort’s role involves providing an attentive ear, light-hearted humour, and carrying essentials like safety pins, bobbins, mints, lip gloss and blister plasters. While accepting his award, his phone incessantly vibrated with messages, leading him to momentarily confuse it with his own nervous heartbeat.
Casey Harris, the Dublin Rose, shares her tattoo stories. One of them is a diamond, echoing her mother’s affectionate moniker for her. Another is a tribute to her aunt who passed away from breast cancer and includes her handwriting. A phrase ‘be safe’, her mother’s standard send-off, finds a place amongst the tattoos. Despite her tattoos initially causing hesitation, they didn’t deter her from entering the contest.
Despite her initial thoughts, she hadn’t considered herself the typical candidate, given her identity as a musician from Finglas adorned with tattoos, she ended up representing her home town in the Rose competition. She acknowledges that the media at times portrays Finglas in an unfavorable light, but she remains proud to be an ambassador for her community.
Grace Farrelly, Cavan Rose and a 20-year-old university student, balances her studies of English and Sociology at Maynooth with an unfinished tattoo of Harry Styles’ lyrics on her bicep. Farrelly recounts how she justified this ink to her father by claiming it’s merely henna. A chance encounter at her part-time role as a hospital cleaner led to her participation in the competition, when a newborn’s mother, who happened to be the local representative, suggested she entered. Despite being one of the youngest ever Roses at the age of 20, she remains modest and thankful.
The captivating Irish harp of Florida Rose, Molly Ronan, is too looming to ignore. She gracefully demonstrates her harp skills after it had been part of her formative years, nurtured by her father’s sweet renditions of the competition’s namesake song – ‘The Rose of Tralee’, replacing ‘Mary’ with ‘Molly’.
The Rose of Tralee has indeed changed over the years, evolving to reflect the diverse lives and professions of the competitors. These include educators, healthcare professionals, social workers and stretch even to a Nasa researcher, a lawyer, and an anthropologist.
The event now integrates open discussions about topics once taboo such as mental health and grief, a far cry from what it would have been half a decade ago. Now, advanced technology allows former contestants to remain in touch post-competition, shaking off the mystery that once shadowed previous winners, such as the infamous 1972 victor, Claire Schmid Furrer, who vanished after her win, leaving only tales of her unexpected departure on a motorcycle.
A few years past, reporter Majella O’Sullivan managed to locate her in Switzerland. She did this by getting in touch with Dübendorfer, Claire’s relative. Being reconnected with the community greatly delighted Claire. In a media briefing, she proceeded to dispel one inaccurate rumour after another. Was it true she jetted off immediately after her victory? Absolutely not – she stuck around to revel in the moment with her companions.
Was her departure hitched on a motorbike? The answer is still no. Even though she had a friend touring Ireland on a motorbike at that time, she didn’t leave with them. Moreover, she estimates having stayed in Kerry for a couple of days.
Claire’s life has been pretty eventful. Her significant other succumbed to cancer exactly three decades ago. With her present husband, she has a “patchwork” family, consisting of two children and three grandchildren each (of whom she hopes one might possibly participate in the Rose someday). She was the owner of a fabric business and taught textiles. She also has an impending art exhibition in Zurich. The notion of being seen as a mystery amuses her.
“For me, there was no mystery. My life has been incredibly full.” She chuckles, “There is more to life than a mere festival.”