Westmeath Rose had 'fantastic time'

The Westmeath Rose had a “fantastic time” at the Rose of Tralee regional festival in the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel over the weekend.

Shauna Coyne was not among the girls selected to take part in Rose of Tralee International Festival, but she enjoyed the whole experience, and hadn’t raised her hopes too high before the event.

As she points out, she is still the Westmeath Rose and is looking forward to attending various events in that capacity, starting today (Tuesday) when she does a photoshoot for the Irish Independent’s health section. (Shauna’s father is a sufferer of the disorder haemochromatosis, and she is helping promote the awareness campaign. Haemochromatosis Awareness Day is June 6.)

Speaking about her weekend in Portlaoise, Shauna said: “It was definitely the most amazing few days. It was fantastic to meet all the girls and all the people associated with the Rose of Tralee.

“We did so many visits. Every day was like going to a wedding or to the races. Yesterday we were at Castle Durrow for our lunch – everyone was so well dressed, it was fantastic and we had great weather too.”

Shauna said that out of 29 girls in Ireland, only six are selected to go through to the finals in Kerry (the Dublin, Cork and Kerry Roses go through automatically), “so I didn’t have my hopes up for it. I’m so happy to be the Westmeath Rose and anything else would have been a bonus.”

She will go to Kerry for the festival in August, to support the other girls and to visit family who live in Ballybunion, but in the meantime she’s organising a team of Roses to take part in the Athlone triathlon.

“I’ll probably do the run,” said Shauna. “I think I have a cyclist so I just need a swimmer!”

• Among the six Irish women who were selected to go forward to the televised stages of the International Festival in the Dome with Dáithí Ó Sé in August is Eleanor McQuaid, the first Monaghan Rose to go through to the original gathering festival in Tralee. Roses from Leitrim, Longford, Donegal, Wicklow and Clare were also selected, to join their counterparts from the Kerry, Cork, Dublin, USA, Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Australia and the Middle East in Tralee on August 14-20.

Throughout the bank holiday weekend, 61 Roses took part in three selection nights hosted by Dáithí Ó Sé at the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel.

• An example of how the Rose of Tralee International Festival connects the global Irish community can be seen through the life-story of the 2013 Washington DC Rose, Lauren DeBueriis.

The 26-year-old PR and advertising graduate can trace her Irish roots to Westmeath, but her story is not your typical tale of heritage as she was adopted by an Italian family.

“My birth mother and father were Irish-American. When I was 22, I started to look for her (my birth-mother) and I found her rather quickly. Since we met, together with my biological grandfather we have all started to research our Irish history. I always knew about my Irish roots but we never knew the actual connection. Over the past few years we’ve come together through our search for our Irish connection and it’s really brought us together as a pseudo-family,” said Lauren.

Lauren currently work as a research assistant for the attaché for agriculture and the attaché for justice and home affairs at the Embassy of Ireland.

“Aside from work, I dance with a local Irish dance school and can be found on any given evening practising on the ground floor of my apartment building, to the immense enjoyment of my neighbours. I’m also involved in several organisations within the Washington, DC area including the American Ireland Fund DC Young Leaders and the Daughters of the American Revolution,” said Lauren.

Lauren said the Rose of Tralee Regional Festival experience was memorable and the best moment of the entire trip was meeting the Rose Buds.

“My little Grainne, who sat next to me on the vintage car tour and who danced the afternoon away with me, touched my heart and this little girl will be in my heart forever and I can’t ever replace that.”

www.roseoftralee.ie; festival office on 066 7121322