A podcast that tells the stories of the Roses of Tralee

A history teacher in Cork city, Nicola Dunne, a has launched a Rose of Tralee podcast on Spotify. Each episode comprises an interview with a past Rose.

Nicola, our Cork/Luxembourg Rose, won the festival in 2012 – and what a year she had, from visiting Barack and Michelle Obama in the White House to travelling to Calcutta with the Hope Foundation.

“I made a point of saying to myself when I went to the bathroom in the White House – you are on the toilet in the White House. It was surreal!”

The adventure started in Europe.

“I was living in Luxembourg at the time, teaching in the European School there. I don’t know if I would have entered if I had been in Ireland. My main aim was just to meet people and have a bit of craic, and I did,” she said.

This is what the Rose of Tralee festival offers people around the world – a way to connect and create friendship, she says.

“ Many of the people I interview as a judge say their main motivation is to meet people, to push themselves and challenge themselves beyond their comfort zone.”

This is something Nicola is keen to emphasise.

“Going on stage is brave and it is not easy. Especially if you become a Rose and you’re suddenly on stage on TV, in front of a million people.

“As a teacher, I was used to public speaking, but only to kids. Honestly, it was the most nervous I’ve ever been. But then you come out and see your family and the banners flying. There is a real buzz, and it is such a lovely experience.”

It takes bravery to push through some of the negativity around the festival too, she argues.

“Some say that it is anti-feminist. I think it is the antithesis of anti-feminist. Women of all backgrounds enter. The festival elevates you and celebrates you. People love to tear it down but I think people have a difficulty with celebrating women. They dismiss it as a bit twee, but people love to hate things in general.

“If anyone comes to Tralee they will see how women are treated and respected as they represent their communities and families. It is not easy but they do it with open hearts and for the best of reasons.”

The festival is also a massive confidence-builder.

“I was on the radio a lot, meeting people like Leo Varadkar and Adi Roche. Situations I might not have found myself in otherwise.”

And Nicola won’t hear a word against the escorts, a tradition that has also been criticised as being old-fashioned.

“If you’re single, the escort is a fantastic opportunity. So many marriages come out of it. They play the loveliest role in protecting you. You’d be lost without them, whether it’s having a plaster in their pocket, or just building you up, they have a big impact. It is a supportive role, a caring role.”

Apart from the obvious craic involved, Nicola emphasises the community and indeed the historic aspects of the festival.

“It is such a family event, parents are so proud. They are having a ball themselves, getting involved backstage. My dad ended up having a dance with Mary Kennedy. Sure, he was delighted with himself.”

For other Roses, it can be even more profound, the podcaster says.

“I was interviewing the 1974 Rose the other night. 1974 was the first time her parents had come back to Ireland in 50 years. It was so special for them. It was also her first time in Ireland. It is her 50th year as Rose of Tralee this year.

"All the family are coming back again for the festival. All of us Roses will come together for her and buy her something significant to mark her big birthday, a piece of jewellery perhaps.”

Nicola says the current Minister for Education Norma Foley is wonderful on the topic of the Rose of Tralee; “I was listening to her recently and she puts it so well. When you think of all those people in the last few hundred years who had to leave Ireland when they didn’t want to leave. And then imagine being their great grand-daughter returning to represent them, back in that place they had longed to be ... That’s very powerful.”

It’s not just Americans that love it, she adds. “A lot of the Australian and New Zealand centres are very passionate about their heritage. It is not as documented, but it is still significant. Canada as well.

“I suspect a lot of the European centres attract Irish people living there, like I was.”

Nicola is delighted that the podcast is being sponsored by jewellery brand Rosie and Dott, owned by a fellow Rose, a friend. Friendship is at the heart of it.

“I want it to be like I’m chatting with a friend. I’m a secondary school history teacher, so that’s a driving force for me. It would be terribly sad to lose this oral history.

“I want to capture these voices, all the way back to 1959. I will start with the winners but broaden it out as I go. The podcast kicks off with Alice O’Sullivan, the first Rose. Then I shift to the 2003 Rose. I hope to capture the very special intergenerational bond we share.”

Nicola is also happy and proud to promote the festival, and to chart its development through the decades.

“It is fascinating chatting to someone like Alice. Back then, there wasn’t so much expectation of the winning Rose. Alice didn’t have to return to hand on the title or anything. In fact, she was a very shy person. She only started to engage with the festival years later. She’d almost deny it if anybody asked, would say it was her cousin. Now she comes to the festival every August. She is in her eighties and she loves it.”

Nicola says to expect an interesting chat with a lot of fun too.

“I most recently interviewed the 2003 Rose. She tells a very funny story of being in New York for a big event. She brought only one dress for this occasion and just beforehand her sister ironed a hole in the bum of it. The sister was too terrified to say anything so she just walked behind her for the night! I love the behind the scenes element of the podcast, the funny stories you wouldn’t expect.”

The project is a significant one too.

“It would be such a shame to not record it, to lose all these beautiful stories, what it meant and still means to people. I am so grateful that I get to soak it all in, and be part of it every year.

“That’s the main priority for me, to have these stories recorded. You never know, there could be an official museum for the Rose of Tralee in time and we will be able to play these recordings.”