TV: Nancy Lehane flies flag for Rebels at Rose of Tralee

Did you know that Dublin and New York hold the record for the most representative wins at the Rose of Tralee?

The Irish capital’s Rose has won the enduring annual contest five times, most recently in 2003, while New York’s Rose has also won five times - the last occasion in 2023.

Cork is fairly high up the list with three wins - in 1961, 1991, and 1999 - so you could argue that the Rebel County is due another win when the 2025 Rose of Tralee takes place next week.

The televised selection nights at the Rose of Tralee Dome at MTU’s Kerry Sports Academy will be broadcast live on RTÉ1 on Monday and Tuesday at 8pm - with a break for the 9pm news - before the winner is crowned at the end of Tuesday’s episode.

Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas will interview all 32 roses in this 65th running of the event.

Representing Cork this year is Nancy Lehane, 22, from Meelin, a small village on the Cork border with Kerry and Limerick.

An early bookies’ favourite to win, she admits she entered “on a bit of a whim” and winning the Cork Rose selection event in June was “the last thing I expected”.

Nancy has just completed her degree in Primary Education and is working as a special education teacher in Newmarket NS. Multi-talented, she plays the guitar, tin whistle, concertina and piano. She sings at weddings and gigs, and is part of her local drama group and choir.

Nancy also plays full-forward, with St Peter’s club, but despite all this, admitted suffering from impostor syndrome at the Rose competition’s evening. “I thought all the other girls were just so accomplished and that it wasn’t for me,” she said honestly.

Nancy has four brothers, who will all be cheering her on next week as well as her parents, Denis - a farmer and stone mason - and Anne-Marie, a nurse in Kanturk Community Hospital.

Three other Roses this year have Cork roots - Luxembourg representative Aisling Guilfoyle, Siobhán Edwards, who will be flying for the flag for Queensland, and Philadelphia Rose Shannon Emery.

Originally from Cork on her father’s side, Aisling grew up in Luxembourg and described the Rose of Tralee as a special way of staying connected to her Irish heritage.

Siobhan, 23, hails from Brisbane and is a proud fourth generation Irish Australian, having great grandparents from Cork.

The Kerry event dates back to 1959. Last year’s winner was Keely O’Grady, the New Zealand Rose.