After a three-year gap the Rose of Tralee returned to our screens this week, with Westmeath girl Rachel Duffy crowned the overall winner.
While there was no Laois Rose in this year’s contest, two girls with very strong Laois connections appeared on stage in the Dome.
Claire Connolly from Dalkey was the Dublin Rose, and is currently doing a PHD with the UCD Nutrition, Biomarkers and Health Research group.
Claire’s mother, Olive (nee Keegan), is originally from Morette near Emo.
And the Philadelphia Rose Tara Ryan has strong links to Portarlington, where her dad Thomas is from.
Tara’s brother Shane is an Olympic swimmer who represented Ireland in the 2016 and 2020 games.
Tara recently graduated with a Masters in Public Relations and Sports Media from Syracuse University.
Under a new format whereby counties now only have a selection night every second year, the Laois Rose centre will once again hold an event in 2022.
Sarah Bergin from Clonad was the Laois Rose in 2019 and Laois was not due to hold a selection night in 2020.
And with the 2020 event pushed back until 2021, Sarah will remain the Laois Rose until the next selection night in 2022.
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