Search
24 Oct 2025
Search
24 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The 2024 International Rose of Tralee Keely O'Grady with Roses launching the 2025 search. Photo: Domnick Walsh Photography
It may be freezing but Roses will be blooming soon in Laois, as entries fill up for the 2025 Laois Rose Selection Night.
The fun filled glamorous night is just three months away, at which the new Laois Rose will be chosen to represent the county in the Rose of Tralee on television and to the world.
Lyn Moloney is the Laois Rose coordinator.
"The countdown is officially on to find the 2025 Laois Rose. Our highly anticipated Laois Rose Selection Night will take place on Good Friday April 18 in the Midlands Park Hotel Portlaoise.
"It promises to be a fantastic evening as we bid farewell to our wonderful 2023 Laois Rose Sinead Dowd and welcome her successor who will represent Laois at the Rose of Tralee International Festival later this year.
"We at the Laois Rose Centre are inviting all interested girls to reach out and put themselves forward to be part of this years Laois Rose Selection.
Rose Selections are taking place across 34 Rose Centres nationally and worldwide this year including Laois.
The 2024 Rose of Tralee Keely O’Grady and 2024 Rose Escort of the Year Barry Lysaght joined others to launch the 2025 Rose of Tralee festival and search for new participants.
International Rose of Tralee Keely O’Grady encouraged anyone interested in taking part to join her this year:
“Taking part in the Rose of Tralee International Festival has truly been a life-changing experience. The one thing I can say to any young woman interested is ‘go for it and apply!’
“To think it’s been just five months since my name was called out by Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas in Tralee, and I’ve already had the opportunity to travel around Ireland and meet so many amazing people, visit Irish communities in Texas and Arizona in the US, and attend so many great events with all my Rose sisters and the Rose Escorts - it’s been a dream so far to say the least,” the reigning Rose of Tralee said.
“The most special thing about the whole experience so far has been the friendships we’ve made through the Festival. We’re practically inseparable now, we even all rang in the New Year together in Co Meath. Soon we’re all flying to Poland with Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children International and Happy Kids Foundation to provide humanitarian support to both groups in a time of great need, through fundraising and providing volunteering help in person in Poland.
“Shortly after that, we’re off to New York for a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade on 5th Avenue, and later in the summer there’s another group of us walking the Camino in Portugal to raise funds for Cliona’s Foundation.
“The Festival has been the most incredible experience so far and it's a brilliant opportunity to connect with other women and represent your community and culture on a national stage.
“I am so grateful for all the lifelong friends and memories I have made on this journey. I can’t wait to see what 2025 will bring,” Keely O'Grady said.
Rose Escort of the Year, Dubliner Barry Lysaght encourages all those thinking of entering to seize this “once-in-a-lifetime experience to take part in the Festival and make friends from all over the world”.
“It’s been such an amazing experience already and we’re only halfway through the year! The Festival week in Tralee last August was such a great experience but it was only the start. I’ve made friends for life in the Roses and Rose Escorts from all over the world.
“Since the Festival I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to Frankfurt, hosted by our German Rose Centre, and we even rang in the New Year together! This year we’ll be volunteering with Chernobyl Children International and the Happy Kids foundation, and I’m traveling to New York for the St Patrick’s Day parade. The opportunities and friendships that have opened up to me since we all first met at the Rose Escort Bootcamp has been incredible, so if you think that’s for you, I’d encourage you to apply as soon as you can,” the Escort of the Year said.
The reigning Laois Rose Sinead Dowd on stage with Daithí O Sé at the Rose of Tralee on RTÉ television.
Every Rose that is selected to represent her county, city or country including the next Laois Rose will enjoy a nationwide Rose Tour, showcasing the best attractions and communities right across Ireland; before arriving in Tralee for five fun-filled days of parades, gala functions, community events, entertainment, the televised Rose Selection nights and much more.
Ireland’s flagship family festival, the Rose of Tralee International Festival continues to grow with more than 100,000 annual visitors enjoying the five-day event, and more than 20 million views of last year’s Festival on Rose of Tralee social media.
The Meadowlands Hotel in Tralee is the official ‘Home of the Roses’ where fans come and celebrate in the opportunity to meet the Roses each night during the festivities. And of course, the 2025 Rose of Tralee will drive away in a beautiful KIA Ireland car to help her fulfil her role as she travels through the country on official rose business.
The 2025 Rose of Tralee International Festival will take place from August 15th – 19th. If you think you’d like to take part and become a Rose or Rose Escort, simply visit www.roseoftralee.ie for more information on how to start your own Rose journey.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
