The new Rose of Tralee, Limerick Rose Sinéad Flanagan, has said she "definitely" regards herself as "a modern Irish woman" and she praised the competition for showcasing "all different types of people from different backgrounds".
The 27-year-old junior doctor told Morning Ireland presenter Bryan Dobson on Wednesday morning that being crowned the Rose of Tralee had yet to sink in, and said she never really thought about winning the competition, but admits the experience in the lead up to the show is "a prize in itself".
"At those early stages in Limerick I thought it was just fantastic to be representing my locality and county," she said.
"Obviously someone wins, and it's a fantastic year ahead, but I feel, for us, a lot of the prize is just being involved in the festival and the few fantastic weeks we have.
"We've just had such an amazing time the last ten days to two weeks. It’s definitely a prize in itself."
When asked what she makes of criticism facing the competition for not adapting to modern ways, Flanagan said she "definitely" regards herself as "a modern Irish woman".
"I definitely regard myself as a modern Irish woman. There were 31 other women up there with me of Irish extraction, so I think we all represent ourselves, our families and our professions.
"From my own opinion anyway, its definitely representative, and I've had two of the most fantastic weeks of my life."
The first of many early morning interviews - including ours! @morningireland @rtenews pic.twitter.com/rwvpruFAnu
— JennïeØSullivân (@OSullivanJennie) August 28, 2019
Flanagan praised the diversity of the competition and said she enjoyed learning from her roommate, Danielle Goebel, from Ohio.
"We had obviously myself and teachers, nurses, an actress, and all different types of people from different backgrounds, and different life experiences, and different things we could all learn from each other, especially meeting the international Roses I think is fantastic," she said.
"My roommate was from Ohio. I'd never met anyone from Ohio before. You just learn about people from all over the world, but yet have a common interest in the Irishness."
Flanagan said she is taking the next year "step by step" and said she is looking forward to seeing her family later today, before adding that "there was definitely some loud roars in The Dome last night".
Sinéad's first press conference as the 2019 Rose of Tralee 🌹
— Rose of Tralee (@RoseofTralee_) August 27, 2019
"It’s Limerick’s year" pic.twitter.com/fgrdHYVabD
The new Rose grew up in Mungret and now lives in Adare, Co Limerick.
After qualifying as a physiotherapist at University of Limerick, she studied Medicine in University College Cork and graduated in 2018.
During the two days, a reach of over 1.39 million people tuned in to watch the Rose of Tralee. Last night an average audience of 547,200 tuned in after RTÉ One's Nine O’Clock News.
Watch Jennie O'Sullivan's news report from Tralee:
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