The RTÉ Rose of Tralee International Festival returned to TV screens on Monday night as host Dáithí Ó Sé welcomed the first 18 International Roses to Munster Technological University's Kerry Sports Academy.
It was quite the night for Dáithí as he returned for the eleventh time as the host of the Rose of Tralee Festival - not only did he have to take a plunge in an ice bath, but he also decorated cupcakes, battled with a lightsaber and conducted a chemistry experiment. (more of that here)
18 out of the 33 Roses competing to be crowned the 62nd Rose of Tralee took to the stage at Kerry Sports Academy.
The televised event saw the Roses perform a number of emotional songs, recite some beautiful poetry and share their ties to Ireland. Plus Dáithí tried his hand at some body-building posing.
For the first time in the history of the festival, trans women and married women were allowed to enter the festival. However, organisers say no married or trans women were in the festival, despite the changed rules.
The winner will be crowned tomorrow evening after the remaining 15 Roses take to the stage. You can watch the fun and frolics unfold on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm.
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Here's a rundown of what happened during night one of the Rose of Tralee International Festival 2022:
The show kicked off with Sydney Rose Mairéad Brennan taking to the stage. The 27-year-old Cork native spoke about her dad who was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and sadly passed away in 2017. Mairead has since raised over €4000 for the Irish Cancer Society while living Down Under. She reckons her dad wouldn't believe made the final stages of the Rose of Tralee, as she was "always thrown together and would roll out of bed for school".
Next up Tipperary Rose Aisling O'Donovan (27) joined Dáithí who revealed that she had recently become engaged during a holiday in Venice. Aisling has a huge passion for wellbeing in education and applies her Master's in Applied Positive Coaching Psychology every day in her job as an assistant principal. She also shared that she is often mistaken as the niece of Daniel O'Donnell after a misspelling of her second name!
Up Tipp from Uncle Danny to the Tipp Rose #RoseofTralee pic.twitter.com/Vy51UqNTeM
— Rose of Tralee (@RoseofTralee_) August 22, 2022
Third on stage was the Ohio Rose, 30-year-old Sarah McInerney, who is originally from Clare. Sarah, who has a PhD in Integrated Bioscience with a focus on Biomimicry, told Dáithí that there is a huge Irish community in Cleveland where she is living.
And in particular, she loves playing Gaelic football and Camogie with Cleveland GAA. Sarah's boyfriend Drew had travelled over to support Sarah and after some questioning from Dáithí seemed to give a convincing nod that a special question is on the way.
Donegal Rose Katie McAteer (24) shared some lovely memories of her dad who passed away when she was very young - including a trip to the pub and Tayto crisps! Katie explained that she only realised about six years ago that she grew up in a single-parent household as they had so much support from family and friends. Katie also highlighted Rainbow, a charity that supports children who have suffered the loss of, or separation from a parent.
23-year-old Sophie Owen from Arizona was next to the stage and gave a stunning rendition of On My Own from Les Miserablés.
Kildare Rose Ashleigh Byrne (26) revealed that she is currently working on a Netflix series called Bodkins, which is set in West Cork and is a comedy-drama about making a True Crime podcast. Ashleigh is a trainee in the art department and her day-to-day duties include everything from admin work to burning cars! For her party piece, Ashleigh brought an ice bath onto the stage and Dáithí took the plunge!
28-year-old Newfoundland and Labrador Rose, Jennifer Mackey, is seventh-generation Irish whose ancestors are native to Waterford. Jennifer is a nurse, who since the pandemics has been working on how vaccinations are rolled out.
The Canadian visited Waterford in 2018 with her family where they were scammed into buying fake museum tickets. However, the staff at the museum felt so bad for them that they brought them on a special tour.
Yorkshire Rose Charlotte Sellers (24), who is currently working as a Child Protection Officer, hopes to one day be an MP in the UK. Charlotte explained that her maternal grandfather is from Waterford and her paternal grandmother is from Tyrone.
Clare Ann Irwin from Galway was next up to chat with Dáithí. She told him that she felt it was an honour and a privilege to be a funeral director as she is able to work with families to make sure they have the funeral they want for their loved one. She also said that more and more people are planning their own funerals.
Jennifer Waldeck from Florida told Dáithí that she has the dream job - she designs Mickey Mouse ears for Disney. Jennifer's dad passed away when she was nine years old and she shared that one of her lasting memories with him was when they visited Disneyland, so working for Disney is really special for her.
Texas Rose Arden Stringer (29) was next to take to the stage. Four years ago Arden complete a course at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork. With her background in writing, she said she now plans to marry her two loves and become a food writer. She also revealed that her parents have just bought a place in Galway and all the family are packing up and moving to the West. 'A crazy life change, but very exciting!'
Saoirse Gibbons (25) from Leitrim told Dáithí that she has a huge grá for helping people learn the Irish language through grinds and different societies at NUIG. She also explained her hobby of geocaching - searching hidden logbooks using GPS - it's like a treasure hunt around the world!
24-year-old New York Rose Cathrena Collins has a very special connection to the Rose of Tralee as her grandmother was the New York Rose in 1965. Cathrena explained that she has many close ties to Ireland - her mam is the President of the Kerry Society in New York and her brother Conor is an expert Irish dancer and musician and has performed in many a Fleadh Cheoil.
Emma Barry (27) representing Louth was next to join Dáithí and despite being born in Dublin, she is a very proud Drogheda woman. Emma shared that she lost her sister Nicola to cancer and said she wanted to carry her message of resilience with her throughout her life.
The Dublin Rose Claire Connolly was up next and she conducted a 'smashing' science experiment with Dáithí.
Perth Rose Olivia Duffy told the audience that she never thought she would be a Rose because she didn't think she would be confident enough. She said when she applied to take part in Perth, it was just to make friends and never thought she would end up on the stage in Tralee. Oliva explained that she plays football Down Under to make sure she keeps the connection to Ireland. Oliva then read a poem that she wrote about Ireland.
23-year-old Rachel Duffy from Westmeath, who hopes to travel to Spain and South America, will be returning to college next week to complete a Master's Degree to become a Spanish and English teacher. Rachel said her mum, who passed away when she was nine, would have been thrilled for her to be a Rose and that "she would have been the most glamourous person" in Kerry had she been there.
Wexford Rose Joy Quigley (26), who was the last to take to the stage on night one, is a self-proclaimed "hugger" and sure enough, she gave Dáithí a huge hug much to his delight! Joy showed off a number of tattoos and explained that some of them have very special and secret meanings with her family and friends.
The Rose of Tralee continues on Tuesday night on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player at 8.00pm.
