Over half a million viewers tuned in to watch New Zealand Rose Keely O'Grady being crowned the 2024 International Rose of Tralee as the festival concluded in Co Kerry on Tuesday.
The crowning of the 2024 International Rose of Tralee drew a peak of 599,100 viewers on RTÉ One last night, while an average audience of 543,000 watched the Rose of Tralee International Festival after the Nine O'Clock News on RTÉ One.
RTÉ Player has 177,000 total streams to date, with viewers tuning in from Ireland and 81 countries around the world.
The 21-year-old Speech and Language Therapy student at Canterbury University said she "can't really put it into words" what it means to have won the 64th Rose of Tralee Festival.
"I'm shaking so much right now," she told co-host Kathryn Thomas last night as she donned her sash.
"What I'm most looking forward to is doing this for my country. As someone from New Zealand, we've only had two New Zealand Roses, the last time was in 1988, so it does really mean a lot to me," she told the audience in the festival dome at the Kerry Sports Academy.
She inherits the title from last year's winner, New York Rose Róisín Wiley.
The 2024 Rose of Tralee was chosen by the festival's four judges - fashion designer Don O'Neill, 1998 Rose of Tralee Luzveminda O'Sullivan, broadcaster Ollie Turner and RTÉ Weather and Lotto presenter Nuala Carey.
Kathryn Thomas was back for her second time presenting alongside Rose of Tralee stalwart Dáithí Ó Sé. They both put in an energetic effort as they introduced this year's 32 Roses over two nights at the Kerry Sports Academy.
The story of the night
Donegal Rose Niamh Shevlin kicked off the proceedings on Tuesday night.
The accomplished Irish dancer toured with Lord of the Dance for five years, where she performed alongside her twin brother Gavin. After dispensing with the long skirt of her red ballgown, she got the crowd going with a foot-stomping Irish dance to The Hills of Donegal.
Sligo Rose Megan McCormack took to the stage next.
The 25-year-old primary teacher from Gurteen spoke about her passion for community and sports before reciting her poem It Takes a Village.
28-year-old Glenna Mannion, the London Rose hailing from Tulsk, Co Roscommon, spoke about her "very challenging but rewarding" job working with children with additional needs.
The 28-year-old displayed an unusual skill by reading Dáithí's tea leaves, telling him that something "Late Late" was coming on a Friday night. Patrick Kielty, watch out!
Cavan Rose Grace Farrelly, a student of Sociology and English at Maynooth University, spoke passionately about her desire to become a secondary school teacher after she graduates.
The 20-year-old also spoke about how inspired she is by the Irish icon Mary Robinson before delighting the audience with a beautiful rendition of Dream A Little Dream.
New York Rose Billie Cooper joined Dáithí on the stage next as she discussed her globe-trotting life.
She spoke about how moving about so often as a child helped her adapt easily to new experiences. Billie, whose parents are both from Ireland, described the Rose of Tralee festival as "a celebration of Irish women their confidence and their independence" before teaching Dáithí a few lines of Mandarin, imbued with his strong Kerry brogue, naturally.
The outgoing Florida Molly Ronan joined Kathryn on stage where she said she’s had "the best week of my life" and that she’s made "31 new sisters".
The 27-year-old Florida native, hailing from Ponte Vedra Beach, is a multi-instrumentalist and impressed with a sprightly rendition of The Spanish Lady on the harp that got everyone in the dome clapping along.
Roscommon Rose Rachel Hastings said it was "always a dream of mine" to take part in the Rose of Tralee.
The 27-year-old from Ballyforan spoke about her love of sustainability and her Instagram page Keeping up with the Hastings which she set up during Covid. She brought her two loves together for her party piece when she demonstrated her talent for wool felting to Dáithí.
Yorkshire Rose Clídna Bailey-Doyle, a 25-years-old wedding coordinator, revealed that both sets of her Irish grandparents got married on exactly the same day at exactly the same time, an amazing coincidence.
The walkie-talkie wielding coordinator has great pride in her heritage and said that if Ireland were playing England in the footie she would be cheering for Ireland.
Dublin Rose Casey Harris made a memorable appearance, speaking movingly about how much it means to her to be representing her county.
The Finglas native said the area "gets a lot of negative media" but that she is so proud and privileged to represent her community. Although she felt like the Rose of Tralee was "out of reach" as she didn’t see people like her getting represented, she owned the stage when she sang Summer in Dublin to a rapturous audience.
Westmeath Rose Grace O’Connor gave the audience into her work as a shamanic practitioner, saying her practices help heal "past traumas that bring you back to your full self".
The 21-year-old from Killucan spoke movingly about the reason she became interested in the work, as her beloved brother Ryan died suddenly two days before Christmas. Grace said he was "the best person ever" and "my rock" and that she was on the Rose of Tralee stage because he encouraged her to apply. She recited her poignant poem Dear Brother in tribute to her late sibling.
Tipperary Rose Tara Brady said she "can’t believe" she was standing on the Rose of Tralee stage.
The 23-year-old from the lakeside town of Ballina is passionate about Irish revolutionary history and says she was born with "historian’s anxiety" as she wants to preserve Irish stories and memories. Her grandmother Mary taught her how to play the spoons which she demonstrated with panache before whipping off her ballgown’s skirt to perform an Irish dance.
Kildare Rose Catherine Cunningham, a 24-year-old caseworker with the national employment service, lives in Rathangan and described her initial struggles with college education, saying she dropped out of her course and felt university wasn’t for her.
She said she was happy to represent anyone at home who’s "nervous or unsure" about their future plans, saying college "might not be for you today or a year but there’s nothing stopping you in five or 10 years time from trying again" before revealing that she now has a degree in Business Management.
Derry Rose Darcy Taylor, a 25-year-old from the small village of Bellaghy and a content producer for BBC Radio Foyle, was impressively articulate as she spoke about being part of the post-Good Friday Agreement generation from Northern Ireland and her pride in Derry now being on tourist attraction lists.
Before a beautiful rendition of How Long Will I Love You by The Waterboys, Darcy’s gorgeous grandmother Josie made an appearance to meet her dream man, Dáithí Ó Sé.
The Chicago Rose Megan Cahill was the final Rose of the evening.
The 29-year-old attorney described her joy at taking part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago, where they dye the river green, and how she studied law at night while working in finance, earning her comparisons to Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. The world medalist Irish dancer delighted the audience with an accomplished Irish dance that brought the roof down.
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Bagpipes and hiccups: Best moments from the Rose of Tralee
