THE Kerry Rose showed no signs of nerves as she appeared on stage at the first Rose Of Tralee Selection Night.
Emer Dineen from Castlegregory was interviewed by co-host Dáithí Ó Sé where we discovered the radiographer based in Dublin was a devout Swiftie with a cheerleading past!
Emer told Dáithí about her work with Children’s Health Ireland at hospitals in Dublin and how much she loves her job and the city.
Dáithí brought up the fact that she was a cheerleader and ended up giving the host a lesson in some basic moves with pom-poms.
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Emer declared her love for Taylor Swift and said going to the three concerts at the Aviva in June was “the best experience of my entire life”. When asked if it was better than the Rose Of Tralee she diplomatically said it was on a par.
She described being the Kerry Rose as a special experience, especially having grown up going to the Festival every year.
Finally, Emer’s interview ended with her using Lámh — the manual sign system used by children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs in Ireland — to sign the lyrics of ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheehan.
She did the county proud and who knows, maybe it’s Kerry’s year?
“Echoes of the Isles” is the latest project from soprano Sharon Lyons and Kerry Scotia Ensemble.
At 5pm on Sunday 25th August in KDYS, Denny Street, Tralee, Sharon and Kerry Scotia Ensemble will perform original arrangements of folk songs from Ireland, Scotland and England.
TraleeToday.ie readers can avail of a special 10% discount if tickets are purchased from Eventbrite (click here) by using promo code SCOTIATRALEE10
Backed by a string quartet and classical piano, soprano Sharon Lyons will sing beautiful celtic classics like Caledonia, Isle of Hope, Raglan Road, Red is the Rose, Siul a Run and many more.
All of the music for the concert was arranged specially by Cork composer Richard Rudkins.
Sharon is a world renowned soprano and recording artist. Her single, Sacrifice, which was recorded for the Vikings TV show recently surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify.
She performs all over the world and has sung for the pope and various international leaders. Kerry Scotia Ensemble are a group of professional string and piano players based in Kerry.
They were established in 2016 with the aim of bringing high quality classical performances to audiences in Kerry. They have been supported by grants and awards from Kerry County Council, the Arts Council and the Department of Culture.
Tickets for the concert are limited and cost €20 for adults and €10 for children (U16). They are available for purchase on Eventbriteor on the door.
TraleeToday.ie’s coverage of the Rose of Tralee Festival/Féile Thrá Lí is brought to you by CH Tralee…
.Kerry Rose Emer Dineen with friends and family outside An Shebeen on Rock Street on Sunday. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE Roses have had a busy week fulfilling so many engagements in the town and around the county.
So yesterday they had a chance to reconnect with family and friends at the pub twinning event at locations around Tralee.
The Roses have each been twinned with a public house or hotel in the town and they received a typically friendly Tralee welcome from the owners and their customers on Sunday afternoon between 3.30pm and 5pm. Scroll down for photos…
TraleeToday.ie’s coverage of the Rose of Tralee Festival/Féile Thrá Lí is brought to you by CH Tralee…
.The Kerry Rose Emer Dineen and Rosebud Clodagh Macken with Emer’s sister Tara and parents Padraig and Margaret Dineen at An Shebeen on Sunday. Photo by Dermot Crean
IT’S been quite an experience for Emer Dineen as Kerry Rose and excitement is building for the Dineen family ahead of her appearance at the selection tonight.
The Castlegregory woman, who works as a radiographer, will be interviewed onstage tonight and is really enjoying the whole experience so far.
“My week has been absolutely phenomenal,” said Emer, speaking to us on Sunday. “As you can hear from my voice I am hoarse from all the shouting and singing. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and I’m loving every second of it.”
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So what has been the highlight of her week so far?
“That’s a difficult one to answer. Meeting my Rosebud Clodagh was a real highlight. Getting to know the girls on the tour was another and the parades, yesterday and today, were just amazing.”
After such an experience, Emer says she would recommend it to anyone thinking of entering for next year.
“Oh without a shadow of a doubt, go for it. If anyone has just thought about it for a second, just do it. Even the run up to the Kerry selection was so much fun with day trips and visits to events. The girls I met are still in touch sending me messages of support this week.”
TraleeToday.ie’s coverage of the Rose of Tralee Festival/Féile Thrá Lí is brought to you by CH Tralee…
.A participant in the parade on Sunday. Photo by Dermot Crean
IT was certainly a super Sunday in Tralee as the sun shone and brought huge crowds to the streets.
The highlight was the ‘Love For The Roses’ parade where the Rose contestants once again boarded their floats to meet the masses.
It was a beautiful day for it too with bands and dancers providing colour and noise which was appreciated by the large crowd. We were there to capture the atmosphere…
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.Shea Horan of Austin Stacks who won the Bons Secours Rose Cup with Davina o Connor (Bons Secours), John Slattery Tralee District Board, John Rice Tralee District Board and Eabha o Connor ( Bons Secours).
THE Bon Secours Rose Cup was held on Saturday at Healy Park in Kerins O’Rahillys and Na Gaeil GAA grounds.
Sixteen teams competed to win Rose Cup and Shield in the Under 13 blitz. Throughout the day there was excitement in both venues as the standard was very high and the games very competitive.
After the respective semi-finals, in the Rose Cup Final Austin Stacks faced Na Gaeil with the Rockies winning out in the end in a close game.
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In the Rose Shield Final, John Mitchels faced Milltown/Castlemaine in another decider that went down to the wire with Milltown/Castlemaine getting the win.
Darragh Roche of Milltown/Castlemaine who won the Bons Secours Rose Shield with Davina o Connor (Bons Secours), John Slattery Tralee District Board, John Rice Tralee District Board and Eabha o Connor ( Bons Secours)
The organisers thanked the Roses and Escorts who attended both venues and the referees who helped out.
.The new N69 Listowel Bypass was officially opened today.
THE Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD, has officially opened the new Listowel Bypass which will divert 7,000 vehicles per day away from Listowel town centre and which will greatly enhance infrastructure and accessibility in north Kerry.
The €62m N69 Listowel Bypass is a six-kilometre western and northern bypass of Listowel town centre and consists of approximately 3.6km of new road, 2.3km of on-line improvement of the existing network and 1.5km of new roundabouts and improvements at junctions.
The Taoiseach was joined at the official opening by the Cathaoirleach and Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, the Chief Executive of Transport Infrastructure Ireland and local landowners who facilitated the construction of the road.
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Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Breandán Fitzgerald described it a historic day for the county: “Traffic congestion in Listowel has long been identified as hampering transport and commercial activity. The bypass will divert some 250 heavy goods vehicles away from the town centre each day which will also greatly enhance the safety of motorists and pedestrians in the town.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “This new road is a major boost for north Kerry in terms of transport, accessibility, commercial activity and tourism. It greatly improves movement across the region including along the busy N69 road between Listowel and Limerick. My government is committed to delivering projects such as this across the country with the support of local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland.”
The designers of the scheme were Jacobs Engineering (Dublin) and the main contractor was Wills Brothers (Mayo). The project was overseen by the Kerry National Roads Office (Kerry County Council).
A 12 month old baby has undergone surgery in hospital after an attack by an XL Bully Dog in the Lixnaw area on Friday night.
Emergency services were called to a family home and the baby was taken to University Hospital Kerry. The dog has since been destroyed.
This is the second time a dog of this breed has attacked a person in Kerry in the last six months. Newly introduced legislation will make it more difficult for people to own this type of breed.
Ivan Hurley reports on Kerry’s clash with Bohemians in the Sports Direct FAI Cup Third Round on Sunday afternoon in Tralee…
Kerry FC 2-2 Bohemians(Bohemians win 4-2 on penalties)
In an afternoon of what could have been for the underdogs as a plucky Kerry FC side made Premier Division side Bohemians sweat as they progressed past the country’s newest team on penalties after an absorbing 120 minutes in Mounthawk Park on Sunday.
Having convincingly defeated Cobh Ramblers in the second round last month, Kerry were rewarded for their efforts with a dream draw against SSE Airtricity Premier Division side Bohemians.
With the 7-time winners and last year’s finalists coming to Tralee on the festival weekend, tickets were in high demand as the game had the sold-out signs up for several weeks.
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But Kerry didn’t show any nerves and were highly competitive in the opening 20 minutes, creating passes and getting into the final third of the pitch.
But despite the Kingdom’s best efforts, it was the visitors who scored the game-opening goal, James Clarke finding the net for the Gypsies who took a somewhat deserved lead. But Kerry fought back well and Ryan Kelliher drew the hosts level in the 43rd minute.
Cian Barrett did really well in the box to turn and find space before letting a cross-goal shot off his right boot. The ball looked to be heading wide but Kerry’s top goal scorer was at the back post to turn the ball home and send Mounthawk Park into ecstasy.
But the visitors were ahead just 90 seconds later as Grieve pounced on a cross with his shoulder to guide the ball past Aaron O’Sullivan in the Kerry goal.
So the Kingdom went in behind at the break having clawed their way back into the game just moments earlier.
Kerry could have found a leveller just moments into the second half, Nathan Gleeson’s shot went just over the crossbar. But Kerry did level the game in the 53rd minute, Ryan Kelliher once again adding himself to the scoresheet.
He chased down the Bohemians goalkeeper who took too much time over a clearance. He dispossessed the keeper and shot home into an empty net and the roof nearly came off Mounthawk Park.
But from there on out, Bohemians squandered numerous chances to put the game well. Kerry’s back 4 stood strong and snuffed out the danger putting bodies on the line but you’d have to wonder how Bohemians missed some of their chances in front of goal.
McDonnell, Smith and Tierney all came within inches of getting Bohs back in front while Rooney shot inches wide in the 95th minute when the game should have been dead and buried.
So Kerry were entering into extra time for the first time in the club’s history and the 30 minutes were played out much the same as the final thirty in ordinary time.
Aaron O’Sullivan pulled off some fantastic saves while Oran Crowe was throwing himself into any sort of challenge to keep the ball out.
Andy Spain, Ethan Kos and Sean O’Connell were all gallant in defence while Finn Barrett made several goal-saving challenges throughout the extra period.
With the sides still at a stalemate, we went to the penalty spot to decide the tie. A perfect 4 penalties for the visitors while Kerry missed 2 along the way meant the Premier Division survived a massive shock to advance to the quarter-final.
Kerry’s attention now returns to the First Division campaign and with the remaining games in single digits and some crucial positions to play for, it will be an important final couple of weeks for Conor McCarthy’s men.
Kerry FC: A O’Sullivan, F Barrett, E Kos, A Spain, S O’Connell, O Crowe, R Teahan, C Barrett, N Gleeson, R Kelliher, S McGrath. Subs: K Amechi for S McGrath, 69, D Okwute for R Kelliher, 83, C Brosnan for R Teahan, 95, S Aladesanusi for N Gleeson, 114.
Bohemians: K Chorazka, L Smith, J Mills, L Kevanagh, B McManus, D Devoy, A McDonnell, J Clarke, R Tierney, D Rooney, A Greive. Subs: Akintunde for A Greive, 58, D Grant for J Clarke, 66, D McDaid for D Rooney, 95, F Piszczek for B McManus, 107.
TraleeToday.ie’s coverage of the Rose of Tralee Festival/Féile Thrá Lí is brought to you by CH Tralee…
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It’s just another manic Monday at the Festival. Here’s a few things to get up to today…
1. Family entertainment….
The fun continues in the Town Park where there’s a host of attractions to enjoy for the little ones. There’s also fantastic entertainment on the streets with an inflatables parade, great music and loads of food stalls to grab a bite to eat.
2. Mind, body and soul…
Presented by Quest & Thrive, the Wellness Zone has Meditation, Yoga, breathwork, soundbath, talks & workshops at Páirc an Phiarsaigh for all the family. For registration & info on events, click here
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3. Time for dogs to shine…
Today is the day to bring your pooch to the Town Park for the Dog Show. There will be a whole host of categories for big and small dogs.
4. Fly with Birds…
The highlight of the week for kids and teenagers is of course Birds Amusements and the fun continues at Ivy Terrace and the Brandon Car Park from 2pm daily until Sunday, August 25.
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5. Beats on the streets…
After the fantastic entertainment on Sunday night, it’s a hard act to follow for tonight.
Step forward then Derek Ryan who, along with Sabrina Fallon presenting an evening of Country Music on the Denny Street stage from 9pm to 11pm.
Dreams of Freedom will take to The Square stage at the same time if country isn’t your thing. Earlier on in the evening is Mike Wagner on The Square stage from 6.30pm to 7.15pm.
A 12 month old baby has undergone surgery in hospital after an attack by an XL Bully Dog in the Lixnaw area on Friday night.
Ivan Hurley reports on Kerry’s clash with Bohemians in the Sports Direct FAI Cup Third Round on Sunday afternoon in Tralee…
4. Fly with Birds…
