Please don’t focus on colour of my skin, says new Rose
SHE has made history by becoming the first Irish-African Rose of Tralee, but Kirsten Mate Maher does not want her skin colour to be the main focus of her win.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail in Tralee just hours after her win, the Waterford Rose, whose mother is Irish and father Zambian, admitted she could find the focus on her ethnicity frustrating.
‘Waterford is so accepting and they don’t see any difference between me and anyone else, but when you step outside that you don’t know who you’re dealing with,’ Kirsten, 21, said.
‘I am proud of my Zambian roots and I want to bring that across. Yes I am half-Zambian but you shouldn’t be focusing on the fact that my skin and hair are different. Lots of Irish women have curly hair like me!
‘It is lovely to say I am the first ever Irish-African Rose, and I am would like to go back and help and see my family,’ she said. ‘They are over the moon. I can’t wait to see my grandad: he was awful upset last night – tears of joy!’
Kirsten also plans to work with several charities during her year as a Rose, most notably, Pieta House. ‘Suicide is so, so predominant in Ireland and it’s something that we need to stop. Pieta House do the most amazing work. Over 800 people in Waterford were helped last year by them and that is an insane number,’ she added.
‘They have done so much work and I would love to be able to help.’
Prior to her win, Kirsten held a fundraiser for the charity.
‘I held my 21st birthday party as a fundraiser so I had bands from Waterford and all around playing, and we raised money purely by donations and we did a raffle.
‘We raised over €1,500 which is insane. I am thrilled and I can’t wait to do more.’