Rosie From Tralee is the 2026 Blue Jean Country Queen

Rosie Falvey has become the second-ever Kerry winner of the 2026 Blue Jean Country Queen, which took place this past June Bank Holiday weekend in Athboy, Meath. The festival is sponsored by Le Chéile Credit Union and organised by Meath Macra na Feirme and the community of Athboy.

21-year-old Rosie is currently training to be an English and Drama teacher at Mary Immaculate College. She is a member of Churchill Macra na Feirme club, who received a perpetual trophy, golden sash and tiara as well as €1000 from the festival main sponsor Le Chéile Credit Union.

Second prize went to Clare's Bríd Gilligan, an SNA and member of Sixmilebridge-Killmurray Macra, who received €500 from Farrelly Tree Care. Third place was claimed by Avondhu Queen Edel O'Sullivan, a social care worker from Freemount Macra, who received €300 from Meath Farm Machinery Ltd.

Throughout the weekend, Rosie and her 21 fellow Queens took part in a hectic and fun-filled weekend which saw them do everything from taking part in a music session, a pub crawl and on-stage interviews, playing fancy dress football, attending street markets, a BBQ with main sponsors, Le Chéile Credit Union and singing Karaoke with the festival organisers and judges - not to mention two nights of live music.

The festival began on Friday, 29 May in a casual fashion with the Queens taking a trip to Causey Farm, where they took part in a team-building exercise that saw them bake bread, dance, and spend time with puppies, horses and alpacas on the farm. This was followed by the festival's official opening in the Darnley Lodge Hotel and The Nana Moon's Pub Crawl that brought the Queens on a tour of the town, including a stop back at the hotel for a music session.

The real hard work began Saturday with private interviews with judges, former Macra na Feirme National President Thomas Duffy, Aine Mullen, former Meath Blue Jean Country Queen and Eva Bannon, 2025 Meath Rose of Tralee. Rosie and all the other Queens then spent their day at the Larry Kelly Plumbing Street Entertainment, followed by the Le Chéile Credit Union BBQ and Fun day, before heading to Floods Bar to sing karaoke. That evening, they had the McNamara Feeds Queens' Interviews in front of a crowded St. James' Hall before partying the night away with The Rurals and DJ Smiley K in the Darnley Lodge Hotel.

The Queens gathered at the Darnley Lodge Hotel on Sunday morning to prepare for a game of "Old McDonald" themed Fancy Dress Football. The match served as the opening event to an afternoon-long family fun at the Fone Geek Lark in the Park fun day that included live music, children's races, a petting zoo, puppet shows and Toy Tractor Run where one lucky child won a ride on a John Deere Gator sponsored by Meath Farm Machinery.

After that, it was off to the JMCK Building Solutions Gala Banquet in The Darnley Lodge Hotel. At the stroke of midnight, the winners were announced, and the Queens celebrated to The Blarneys, followed by DJ Smiley in The Darnley Lodge Hotel.

"I was absolutely blown away, it hasn't even sunk in yet!" said Rosie, reflecting on her win. Speaking after the festival, she praised the community of Athboy and the warm welcome she received over the weekend. Rosie also took time to praise her fellow contestants, saying that all 21 other Queens and how the judges (former Macra President Thomas Duffy, 2025 Meath Rose of Tralee Ella Bannon and former Meath Blue Jean Country Queen Aine Mullen) "had a really, really, hard job - every single one of the girls were worthy of being the winning Queen".

Rosie is looking forward to using her role to get more young people involved in Kerry Macra and taking the opportunity to travel around Ireland promoting Macra na Feirme and the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival.