The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
An evening of glitz and glam at the Rose Ball
THE highlight of the county’s social calendar did not disappoint last Friday night as 1600 followers of the Rose of Tralee festival gathered for the glitzy Rose of Tralee Ball.
It was a special night for all 65 Roses as they mingled with family and friends at a beautiful reception in The Rose Hotel before sitting down to an extravagant meal and dancing the night away in the Dome.
Familiar faces such as 2015 Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh and girlfriend Shauna Keogh as well as the current reigning Rose, Elysha Brennan were amongst the glamorous bunch and were on hand to provide expert advice to each of the hopeful Roses.
Sinéad Kennedy took time out of her busy schedule to relax at the ball and learn some more about the Rose contestants.
This year saw the highest number of guests at the sparkling occasion as all 65 contestants were accompanied by avid supporters of the festival.
Catching up with Kerry Rose, Danielle O Sullivan, she insisted that the Rose Ball was one of the highlights of the journey so far.
“It’s so amazing to be involved in the festival this year in and coming to the Rose Ball is probably one of the most exciting parts of it,” she said.
“It has been the most surreal few months and there is constantly something happening but I am absolutely loving every second of it,” she added.
Luxembourg Escort, Kieran Brady is from Kildare and said that the festival was nothing like he had ever experienced.
“It’s hard to understand how exciting it all is until you are actually involved. I didn’t know what to expect coming down to Kerry and being stuck in the middle of it all but every day it gets better and I feel so lucky to be part of it,” he said.