Rose of Tralee charms Mullingar

As ambassador for the Hope Foundation, she has been to visit the poorest slums of Kolkata, yet dined at Gracie Mansion, the residence of the mayor of New York City, and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tánaiste Michael Martin – the last nine months have been a “whirlwind” for Rose of Tralee, Rachel Duffy, who visited Mullingar on Thursday last.

“I’m even a ‘ferry godmother’ – not too many people can say that!” says the Rosemount native, who was asked to be godmother to a Brittany Ferries ship called the Salamanca.

On her visit to Mullingar, she called on Ann and Áine O’Reilly, the mother-and-daughter team at Zobi, who designed Rachel’s dress for last year’s Rose Festival, and are currently in the design stage for this year’s.

“We can’t give anything away about the dress just yet, only that it’s going to be a celebration because really dressing Rachel did so much for our business last year, we were amazed by the response,” says Áine, at the Mary Street based studio.

“We were an unknown small business, it was such a boost for us, to see her winning and wearing the dress, it really was a dream come true,” she says.

“We also didn’t know that the dress goes into the Rose museum, so it’s come a long way,” adds Ann.

“Everybody asks about the dress,” continues Rachel. “I loved wearing it and I felt confident in that dress. I had always said that I didn’t want a dress that would wear me, so it was just perfect.”

Following a quick stop at the Spiced Bean Café for coffee, the Rose entourage made their way to the North Midlands Credit Union, where Rachel’s mother worked for 18 years. On the way, the Examiner took the opportunity to talk to Rachel’s father, Eamonn, to find out what the year has been like for him.

“The first thing I have to say is that I’m really proud of Rachel. I don’t think anybody could ever have foreseen something like this,” he begins.

“Rachel has been a little bit of a surprise always because she got involved in a musical in national school unexpectedly, and she went on to take the lead role, and then more roles followed in secondary school. Even though she was shy and a bit quiet, I think her talent came out on stage,” he says of his youngest daughter, who studied drama and Spanish in college in North Carolina.

“She’s a bright girl, and she’s good with people, and from a family point of view we’re all so proud of her. Her brother Thomas and sister Lorraine are there behind her all the way, and with her mammy gone, I suppose it has bonded us together even stronger as a family.” Eamonn adds that the Rose whirlwind happened so fast, he had to get directions to Kerry.

“Rachel had never been to Tralee before that night, so it was all new to us. All I knew was that I had to wear a tux, and we enjoyed it – it was a lovely occasion, and the festival itself was unbelievable, and so too was all that followed. We’re so proud of her, she’s a great girl, and I know that she’ll wear the Westmeath sash with pride for the next year.”

In the North Midlands Credit Union, a party of sorts is waiting for Rachel and Eamonn, who was celebrating his 60th birthday that day. It gives the pair a chance to catch up with the manager, Tom Allen, and five members of staff who worked with Rachel’s mam, Cathy.

She regales them of tales from her last year, travelling to the Irish Embassy in Paris, meeting with Mná na hÉireann, and then on to Cherbourg, where she was asked to launched the Salamanca.

“I hadn’t a word of French, I hadn’t a clue what was going on,” laughs Rachel.

“But there was lots of oysters and all that craic. We got to stay on the ship the night before and the next morning, they had a big ribbon tied at the top of the ship with bottle of Champagne, which tied to the podium and pulled really tight.

All I had to do was to cut the ribbon to launch the ship, but, there was another ship that was Christened just before mine, and her bottle didn’t smash the first time.

“You should have seen all the sailors covering their heads because they’re really superstitious about it – it’s supposed to bring good luck to the sailors and a long life at sea for the ship, so the pressure was on for mine to break, but it did first time, thank God.”

As part of her Rose duties, Rachel has also been to New York for St Patrick’s Day, where she led the Roses and Escorts in the parade, and had breakfast that morning at Gracie Mansion with Mayor Eric Adams, followed by Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. She returns to New York this week for the Westmeath New York GAA dinner dance.

She was also hosted by the German Rose Centre in Frankfurt at Christmas to turn on the lights, but it’s not all fun trips.

“I’m ambassador for the Hope Foundation this year, a Cork based charity, and they have over 60 projects in India, based throughout Kolkata city. Obviously, Kolkata is a huge population and there’s so much poverty, lot’s of slums and homeless, and I was brought out to India in November to see first-hand the type of work the Hope Foundation do out there. Their work ranges from education, healthcare, protection, vocational training, and community based work.

“I got to opportunity to visit all those centres and it was such a culture shock, even the minute I got off the plane, just to see the poverty that’s there it was so surreal for me. I think that no matter how much you try to prepare yourself for what you’re going out there to see, nothing can prepare you for that, especially when your seeing a lot of children in deprivation. It was quite upsetting at times, and I looked at my own life and had questions about the way we live,” Rachel explains.

“So, when people ask about the tiara, the tiara for me is so far from what it means to be the Rose of Tralee. Maybe when you watch it on television, you think it’s all glamour, but there’s a whole other side to it that people don’t see.

Rachel will be handing over the Rose of Tralee title in August, but will be the Westmeath Rose for the next 12 months, and plans to make the most out of the once-in-a-lifetime experience.