Elysha prepares to hand over her crown

 The last 12 months have been beyond hectic for Rose of Tralee and Bettystown native, Elysha Brennan but she’s loved every minute of it.
“It has been an absolutely amazing year. I cannot believe it is coming to an end. I feel like I’ve blinked and missed it,” she says.
Elysha (22) who was the first Meath Rose ever to compete in the Rose of Tralee final and hands over her crown next week after a whirlwind reign during which she visited charities around the world as well as projects in every county in Ireland.
She will have a busy schedule during the Rose of Tralee Festival which begins next week and when she finally hands over her crown on 23rd August, she’ll have just over a week’s break before she resumes her medical studies with the Royal College of Surgeons.
“I have been living a real-life fairytale so going back to college will certainly be interesting,” she says.
She will be returning to third year of her medical studies and will be based at Beaumont hospital where her mother Christine works as a nurse.
“It will be nice to be in a hosptal setting and to be able to travel to work with my mother,” she says.
Elysha has travelled all over the world as an ambassador for the Rose of Tralee festival.
Last October she travelled to India with the Hope Foundation where she did volunteer work with the charity’s projects in India.
In December she travelled to the Middle East where she did a skydive with the Abu Dhabi Rose in Dubai.
“It was scary, but it was for a good cause - the Chernobyl Children’s Fund.”
In January and February, Elysha travelled to every county in Ireland visiting local projects and community groups.
“It was wonderful. I was welcomed in each county by the regional Rose and I saw some really beautiful parts of Ireland.”
Elysha visited the Irish diaspora in New York and Philadelphia and took pride of place in the Big Apple’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
She later spent three weeks in Tanzania with two different charities - Development  Perspectives and a surgical training initiative run by the Royal College of Surgeons.
“In between all the travelling I undertook a lot of other charity work. I am an ambassador to the Meath-based charity Aoibheann’s Pink Tie. I am very close to all the team and I will remain involved when my year is up,” she says.
Twenty-two year-old Elysha battled cancer while she was about to sit her Leaving Certificate in 2012 but delayed undergoing chemotherapy until she had completed her exams.
Her hard work paid off and she began her medical studies in the Royal College of Surgeons in 2013. A few months after she learned she was in complete remission from Hodgkins lymphoma and while she still has health checks, she says her health is perfect at the moment.
“I just had to remember to slow down every now and again during this past year.
“I was very lucky to have had such a wonderful experience and I am extremely proud of the work I’ve done over the last 12 months.
“I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat,” she says.