Nicholas Gogarty, an accountant in Kerry Group hopefully enjoyed his ‘boot camp’ experience over the weekend.
TWO Rose of Tralee escorts with strong local links have been put through their paces as they competed in the rigorous ‘Rose of Tralee Boot Camp’ for escorts.
Shane Kenny who is an architect based in the Spa and Nicholas Gogarty, an accountant, originally from Lurgan, with ‘Kerry Group’ were among the group of 32 Irish lads who made it through the challenges last weekend.
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“The Rose Escorts spent 48 hours in picturesque Kenmare, County Kerry where they learned to shear sheep, cut turf, build a dry stone wall, peel spuds and make poitín. Nearly 200 men aged between 21 and 30 applied to become Escorts at this year’s Rose of Tralee International Festival and following a detailed interview process, the final 32 were selected to take part in a Boot Camp weekend in Kenmare to help them prepare for a busy week in Tralee,” said John Drummey, The Rose of Tralee International Festival’s Communications Manager.
The competitors had to carry out a wide variety of tasks tasks including cycling, horse-riding, abseiling, kayaking, ironing and sewing in order to show that they have the energy levels required to be an Escort.
On Monday night 17th August, one of the 32 Escorts will be announced as the ‘Escort of the Year’ for 2015 and will walk away with a wonderful prize including a silver plated cutlery canteen personalized with his family crest and a cheque for €1,000.
Shane Kenny, an architect from the Spa was certainly put to the test over the weekend.
“Having been selected as the Escort of the Year was nothing short of a great honour. The opportunity to represent a fantastic group and to accompany our Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, at numerous events has been a brilliant experience. I’ve travelled to Belarus and countless reunions while also working closely with a fantastic Rose of Tralee Team who couldn’t have done any more for me. I’ve made memories and friendships that will be cherished forever,” said Conor Walsh, the ‘2014 Escort of the Year’.
Full details of the International Roses, Escorts and Festival events can be found here.
