On the lookout for Taranaki’s brightest roses

Taranaki girls aged 18 to 27 with Irish ancestry are being urged to enter the region’s Rose of Tralee competition.

At this stage Taranaki has only one confirmed entrant but organisers at the Taranaki Irish Club are hopeful there would be more entries before they closed on April 13.

If things stay the way they are, Taranaki’s only entrant Niamh O’Sullivan, 27, will automatically progress through to the New Zealand finals in Wellington in June.

O’Sullivan grew up in Ireland and remembers watching the competition on TV.

‘‘I only moved to New Zealand a year ago and entered the contest so I could meet new people with similar interests,’’ she said.

Entry numbers have been on the decline in Taranaki for the past few years.

In 2016 there were four entrants and in 2015 the event was postponed a month until eventual winner Antonia Smith was found.

A drop-off in interest has also been experienced in other parts of the country with the number of regions entering dropping from a regular 12 to seven of eight. Event organiser Louis Buhler blamed busier lives and work commitments as the main reasons girls didn’t want to take up the opportunity.

‘‘Getting time away from work can be hard, there’s lots of dates to consider,’’ she said.

The national winner gets to go on an all expenses paid trip to Ireland to compete in the International Rose of Tralee festival, make new friends from around the world and reconnect with their Irish ancestry.

Taranaki has had some success in the event previously. Oakura’s Alana Marshall was crowned New Zealand Rose of Tralee in 2012.