Co. Kildare has had the honour of playing host to the International Rose of Tralee Festival, in August 1997 and 1998.
The Roses of Tralee on the
Robertstown Barge in 1997
31 Roses will take part in the International Rose of Tralee Festival; some of whom have represented places as far away as New Zealand, Canada, Dubai, Australia, and the USA.
The Roses and their entourage have travelled along the Grand Canal by canal barge at Robertstown, where they experienced the atmosphere of this picturesque Kildare village and also sampled our hospitality at a Reception in the Grand Canal Hotel where they have been entertained by local artists. They would then proceed to the Stand House Hotel, on the Curragh, where they were treated to a festival banquet.
"There is a truly international dimension to the Rose of Tralee and it is a distinctive and simple marketing tool for Ireland. Therefore, this year we wanted to share the opportunity by commencing the festival in Co. Kildare", said Mr. Seamus O' Halloran, President, Festival of Kerry.
The Rose of Tralee Contest has a larger television audience than the World Cup or the All Ireland Finals, with 950,000 viewers tuning in each of the two nights the contest is broadcast live from the Brandon Hotel in Tralee. This year with the show being broadcast on the internet also the expected viewing rate will be somewhere between 2-5 million. Robertstown has also been offered kindly - by the Rose of Tralee Committee - a place on their web site to thank us for our hospitality and our efforts in keeping the connection going between Tralee and Kildare.
The Rose of Tralee also attracts the biggest names from the International Media. Every year television stations from around the world descend on the festival to film documentaries and obviously follow the fortunes of their Rose during the contest.
The 1997 Rose of Tralee was French Rose, Sinead Lonergan who captured the hearts of the nation and the judges and who has returned to visit Robertstown on numerous occasions in her capacity as Rose of Tralee, to help promote Robertstown as a tourist village.
"The committee in Tralee are excited to be returning to Robertstown again and we are looking forward to sharing the experience with the people of Co. Kildare". concluded Mr. Seamus O' Hallorhan, president, Festival of Kerry.
For further information please contact:
Fr.
Paul Fitzpatrick, Liam Hartford or Gratta Moran
Robertstown Development Association
Phone: 045 -
870005 Fax: 045-870005
E-mail: robertstown@tinet.ie or bargetour@tinet.ie
On Friday 9th April in Robertstown Grand Canl Hotel a Banquet was held to choose a representative to go forward and represent Kildare in the Dublin/ Leinster section of the International Rose of Tralee Festival.
Grand Canal Hotel,
Robertstown, Naas, Co. Kildare.
Phone: 045-870005 Fax: 045-870005