Ratoath teacher selected to be Rose of Tralee escort

With just over two weeks to go until the 2026 Rose of Tralee International Festival gets underway, the 32 escorts chosen to support this year's Roses are preparing for one of the most memorable weeks of their lives.

Among them is 25 year old Ratoath native, Conor Sheeran, the only escort representing the Royal County this year.

After an extensive selection process that saw almost 100 applicants narrowed down to 80 before the final 32 were chosen, Conor earned his place as one of the men who will accompany and support the Roses throughout the festival.

"It was a real honour to be selected. My family and I were watching the competition last year and my sister said to me that being an escort would be a really good opportunity and that she thought I would be well suited for it. I thought it was just about bringing the Rose up on stage but when I read more into it I was really inspired by the role.

"It's about becoming a support system for your Rose and for her family to get her through the week. You have to make sure she's cool, calm and collected. It's a really nice opportunity and such a privilege to be asked to do it. One question I'm always asked is which Rose do I want to be assigned to and I honestly would be honoured to support any of them because they all seem like amazing women with great back stories."

The successful escorts got their first taste of festival life during a boot camp in Kerry at the beginning of June, travelling through Tralee, Dingle, Ventry and Castlegregory while taking part in a packed schedule designed to prepare them for the demands of the week ahead.

"We did early morning drills on the beach together and we were really pushed to our limits. Some of us tried things we had never done before, like horse riding on the beach, which was really fun. We did rock climbing, pedal boats and went to nature reserves. It was a real bonding experience for all of us and all of the escorts clicked so well.

"We had late nights and early mornings during boot camp as that's what's to be expected during the competition week. We were just kept really busy."

Away from the festival, Conor is a secondary school teacher of Music and Religious Education. He spent two years teaching at St Patrick's Classical School in Navan, where he once sat on the other side of the classroom.

As excitement builds ahead of the festival, Conor says he has been overwhelmed by the support of family, friends and local businesses. His uncle, JJ Doherty, sponsored him through his Westmeath-based company, Motorway Care Ltd, while Navan department store Geoghegans ensured he is dressed for the occasion with a new suit.

"I'm so grateful to my sponsors and for all of the support. All of the escorts also had to sell raffle tickets to raise money for their chosen charity, so I chose the LauraLynn Children's Hospice which is Ireland's only children's hospice."