Clare Rose hopes to blossom in Laois

CLARE Rose Marie Donnellan is rallying her supporters to follow her to Portlaoise, for the Rose of Tralee Regional Festival from May 30 to June 3.
It’s a major tourism event on the Irish festivals calendar attracting 61 Roses, their families, friends and festival-goers from Ireland and around the world.
Rose of Tralee host Dáithí Ó Sé will interview each of the 61 Roses over three nights before two judging panels select 23 Roses to go forward to the International Festival and Rose Gathering in Tralee next August.
Newmarket-on-Fergus’ Marie is a qualified accountant working in Apple and has just returned from a year travelling the world, in which she gained huge international personal and professional life experiences. She is secretary of her local Tidy Towns committee. Marie describes herself as a true country woman at heart, who loves every tiny detail of country life.
Roses representing 29 counties in Ireland, 14 regions in the United States, Scotland and seven major cities in the United Kingdom, Melbourne, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Canada, Luxembourg, France and Germany will all take part in the Regional Festival. Twenty-three Roses will go forward to the Rose of Tralee International Festival where they will be joined in August by Roses from Kerry, Cork, Dublin, Sydney, New Zealand, Darwin, Perth, Queensland and South Australia.
This year’s extended Rose of Tralee International Festival and Rose Gathering will take place from August 14 to 20. For details visit www.roseoftralee.ie or contact the Festival Office on 066 7121322.