'It doesn’t have to end here', says Westmeath Rose

Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh says she “didn’t have a full appreciation for what goes into being a Westmeath, Rose or any Rose, until I started the tour and came to Tralee".

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner today, Tuesday, in a rare quiet moment, Caoilfhinn said there’s so much more to the Rose of Tralee than is shown in the media and on the telly night.

“There’s a lot that goes into it and you really appreciate the volunteers and the community that gets behind the different events.

“We’ve had an absolute blast. I’m really sad it’s coming to an end, but, actually it doesn’t have to end here.

“I hope to bring a lot back to my community, and also I get to do different events with my Rose sisters in the future, so it doesn’t end here. I’m just really going to make the most of it now.”

Asked about her on-stage performance for live television last night, Caoilfhinn said she used her experience of doing theatre and “went into performance mode”.

“I was able to keep myself composed and just get through it. My bad thing is timing because I chat a lot, and I was trying to get all that I wanted to say on the stage. I just wanted to do my little piece for my community and let them know that there’s support out there for them.”

Caoilfhinn’s piece with host Kathryn Thomas was about her wigs, as she is living with the autoimmune disease alopecia.

“It [the response] really is overwhelming, it’s amazing, and I can’t take the compliments almost... what is really nice is to know that it was worth doing because I was a bit worried – I didn’t want to be known as the one who did the wigs, because obviously they’re not going to remember all our names, and so I didn’t really want to be reduced to that, because I am so much more – there’s a lot that makes me me and makes me resilient, and that is only one very small bit of it – it’s just something that happens to be visible.

“There’s definitely a lot more to my story that I would hope to educate people on and let them know that you can be a Rose no matter what, your imperfections, your background, and just never doubt yourself.”