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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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Laois Rose, Sarah Bergin, Rose of Tralee, Rachel Duffy, Teacher, Ms. Ryan, Ms Gleeson, Diarmaid O'Connor, Deputy Vice Principle and students of 5th class Holy Family School. Photo Denis Byrne
The Rose of Tralee and the Laois Rose faced a quizzing this week, by the clever boys and girls in the Holy Family Senior School in Portlaoise.
Rose of Tralee Rachel Duffy, and Laois Rose Sarah Bergin visited 5th and 6th classes to tell the pupils about the festival, on launch day of Laois Rose 2023.
Answering the brilliant questions posed by the kids, the Rose of Tralee explained that she didn’t get to Disneyland for being crowned, she prefers SuperMacs to McDonalds except for the fries, and that she won jewellery, lots of travel trips and a new car for the year.
“The experience outweighs the prizes,” she added.
“Have you any side job?” one boy asked, to which proud Westmeath woman Rachel Duffy replied that she loves working in P Egan’s pub in Moate but has taken a year out of that and out of university while she is the Rose of Tralee.
“Do you have to be the prettiest girl in Ireland?” one pupil asked.
“People thought that for a long time, but it’s not a standard competition. It’s about me as a person, what I do, how I am involved in my community.
“The four judges want someone to represent Irish women in modern day Ireland,” Rose of Tralee Rachel said.
Asked if qualifications are needed, Laois Rose Sarah Bergin explained that you just have to be aged 18 to 29.
“You need to be a kind person who loves doing things for your community. You don’t feel like you’re in a competition.
“You go on a big tour all around the country and meet people from all around the world, it’s more a fun thing,” Sarah said.
As to who might be a Rose of Tralee from their school, the students pointed to their 5th class teacher Ms Gleeson.
“She’s good at making decisions,” a pupil explained.
The Laois Rose Selection Night will take place in the Midlands Park Hotel Portlaoise on Easter Sunday night, April 9.
The new Laois Rose will then represent her county in the Rose of Tralee next August in Kerry on television.
Applications are now being accepted to enter the 2023 Laois Rose selection final. If interested, contact 086 2505791 or reach out to the Laois Rose Centre on socials.
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