A 20-year-old primary schoolteacher from Kilkenny was last night crowned the 46th Rose of Tralee.
Orla O'Shea had been due to take up her first teaching position in Swords in Dublin next month, but will spend the next year carrying out her official duties.
It was her county's first time to enter a Rose in the competition.
Ms O'Shea was crowned by last year's winner, Orla Tobin, at the annual international festival in the Dome in Tralee, Co Kerry.
