The New Zealand Rose of Tralee
As I am sitting here I'm finding it very hard to believe that the whirlwind of the Rose of Tralee was already one month ago and indeed what a whirlwind it was.
Having grown up in Ireland the Rose of Tralee was an annual ritual for me and my sisters of getting the popcorn ready and preparing ourselves to hunker down and watch the two live shows, choosing favourites, comparing notes and trying our best to spot the winner. As a child looking at these confident and wonderful women I promised myself that some day I would enter to be a Rose. Fast forward 20+ years and I find myself sitting outside Rosie's Cantina in beautiful windy Wellington on St Patrick's, being handed a flier to enter, and with the encouragement of my friends that is exactly what I did.
I flew home to Ireland on the 7th of August and was quickly swept into the Rose of Tralee international tour and festival. As a child watching the shows I only ever saw the tip of the iceberg and now here I was getting to see and experience the whole festival first hand as the New Zealand Rose. The official tour started in County Meath where all 32 Roses met for the first time and were given the chance to bond and get to know one another. It was here the sisterhood was formed and it was carried throughout the festival and I truly believe it will be carried throughout my life. Although different in so many ways each Rose had their own unique "Why" for being there and each Rose was the type of person to back themselves enough to put themselves forward. There was a certain level of grit and strength that each Rose possessed and everyone had a story they were willing to share and within that a camaraderie was born.
From Meath and Emerald Park we visited: Dublin, Moneygall, Limerick, Killarney and Kenmare before finally making it to the home of the festival in Tralee, Co Kerry, where the festival went up a gear.
Outside of getting to know and developing relationships with the other Roses, Escorts, and the whole Rose of Tralee team, one of the highlights of the festival was seeing what the Rose of Tralee means to people on the ground. At each and every stop there were droves of people from the community out to greet us and share stories. People who had been involved or had either watched the festival their whole lives. There were children who looked at us like princesses and wanted pictures and autographs, and people who had connections to Aotearoa in some way and wanted to share. This connection and love of the festival was also evident to me in New Zealand within the Wellington Irish communities who came out to support and who had been involved with the festival for many many years.
For me personally there were a few stand out moments from the festival that I will cherish forever, the first being the night parade and fireworks on Saturday the 16th of August. A thundery evening led to a dry mild night where the Roses were atop floats and were paraded through the streets of Tralee which were lined with thousands and thousands of people, all of whom were there to soak up the atmosphere of the festival, it was so surreal and a real 'pinch me' moment. About half way down Denny St I spotted my entire family including my 2 baby nieces on the steps of the bank waving with their New Zealand flags. I will never forget the joy I felt and how happy they all looked. The parade was swiftly followed by a fireworks display at the bottom of Denny Street where Roses, Escorts, Rosebuds and Rose buddies got to dance under a sky full of stars and just soak in the magic of the festival.
The third and final moment that will stick with me forever has to be the stage night in the dome. Walking out onto the stage with the korowai to represent New Zealand was so surreal and I couldn't help but think of little me all those years ago and wondered what she would say. I could see my Dad and sister Aoife right in front of me and to my left I saw the Roses and Escorts. I felt safe, supported and ready.
The interview flew by and before I knew it I was over at the mic singing. I am proud of how far I have come on this journey from Paddy's day to now. I think the one thing I have learned is to just go for it, nothing ventured ... nothing gained and I would always rather try than to be left wondering what if . . .
I would like to say a sincere and huge thank you to the members of the Wellington Irish communities who came out and supported me on my journey to Tralee, with special mention to Maureen Cahill from WIS, Bryan Mulligan from Hutt Valley Irish Society and our wonderful past New Zealand Roses Aislinn Ryan, Emma Coffey, and Esther Summerhays, who gave me such wonderful advice and who organised a magnificent Ceilí.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir,
Lé meas agus grá,
Ciara Jo Hanlon