'I'm raring to go' - New Rose of Tralee just wants to get back to work
Katelyn, the Laois Rose, won the Rose of Tralee on Tuesday night after impressing judges with her jive alongside her escort, her rose tattoo on her spine, and her talking about her apprenticeship as an electrician.
Despite the huge win and the fact that she'll be booked and busy for the next year, Katelyn said that she plans on completing her apprenticeship and engineering degree — saying that she won't let anything get in the way of it. The new Rose of Tralee has said that she won't be letting the crown get in the way of her completing her apprenticeship.
'I think I'll go back to work,' Katelyn told Morning Ireland on Wednesday. 'I'm raring to go back, to be honest, I'm really excited to get back.'
When asked about juggling her newfound responsibilities as Rose of Tralee and doing her apprenticeship and degree, nothing seemed impossible in her eyes — but she knows where her priorities lie.
'I suppose I'll be going with my apprenticeship the way I've been going for the past two years, and just kind of continue my duties as the Rose of Tralee on the side as well, but definitely my career will be a priority for me.' Katelyn won the Rose of Tralee on Tuesday night, bu tPic: RTÉ
As for how she felt winning the whole shebang, she said that this was a dream she's had since she was six years old, so to win was 'most definitely' a dream come true — and thankfully, she was able to keep herself standing, despite a near miss when her name was called.
'My legs were crossed,' she joked. 'I thought I was going to fall over onto the Arizona rose, that's what was going through my mind. And then all I wanted to do was hug my mum and my dad and my granny — that was mainly it to be honest.'
Another unique part of Katelyn was a tattoo — aptly of a rose — on her spine, and while some (more cynical) people would believe that such a tattoo would be her tempting fate, Katelyn explained that it was actually a beautiful tribute to her late granny. Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas. Pic: Domnick Walsh
'My granny Kathleen passed away in June 2023 of gastric cancer,' Katelyn said. 'She was a very avid gardener when she was living at home, and she had beautiful roses in her garden. She had red, pink, orange, yellow, every colour under the sun in our garden.
'I absolutely loved them, and it smelled absolutely fantastic. I suppose when she passed away, I wanted to get a tribute to her and thought the rose would be a lovely touch.'
Following her win, social media was alight with reactions as Katelyn received 'the shock of her life' following the huge win.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rose of Tralee winner says title means more than tiara amid bosses' decision
Rose Of Tralee winner Katelyn Cummins has said winning the title means more to her than getting to wear a tiara. This year, the Laois Rose was given a mega prize package, including a car for 12 months, a Kerry holiday and free hair styling for a year, in exchange for the coveted tiara. It comes after festival bosses decided in 2022 to scrap giving a stunning bespoke tiara designed by either Tipperary Crystal and Newbridge Silverware to the winner. But electrician apprentice Katelyn revealed she didn't even think in the moment about what she had won. She told the Irish Mirror: 'It was absolutely unreal. Like, you don't even think in the moment that I'm not getting this or I'm not doing that. You're just in the moment and you're enjoying just being given the title, (which) is everything to me. Do you know what I mean? 'Like, there's nothing quite like it,' she said. RTÉ revealed that over half a million viewers tuned in to see the Laois Rose crowned this year's Rose of Tralee winner. Katelyn said waking up on Wednesday morning as the Rose of Tralee winner felt 'surreal'. 'It feels surreal. Honestly, it doesn't feel real at all like this after happening, and I don't think it will for a few days. 'I think I'm just going to kind of enjoy my time with the girls and the lads down here, and then I think it'll all hit me when I head back home.' The 20-year-old plans to return back to work as an electrician next Monday morning. Figures from RTÉ revealed that on Tuesday night, a peak audience of 532,000 tuned in at 11.20pm as the 2025 International Rose of Tralee was crowned. Across Monday and Tuesday night's broadcasts, RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1 drew an average audience of 424,000. On Tuesday night, an average audience of 505,000 watched after the news on RTÉ One, with a 55 per cent share of the available audience tuning in. The show had a 1-minute reach of over 1.2 million on RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1 across both nights. Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins reacts to winning the Rose of Tralee (Image: RTE News) It was a record high for the RTÉ Player as it has so far recorded 202,000 total streams to date for the festival, with viewers tuning in from more countries than ever before. A total of 102 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Greece, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, India, Kenya and Malaysia, all had viewers tuning in. Katelyn previously opened up about taking a trade as her career path and how some of her customers get a shock when they see her at their front door. She previously said: 'Yes, they would be shocked in a good way. People are very enthusiastic in a good way about it. They're very supportive and ask me if I know any more female electricians. I love doing it and I am so happy that there are more women getting into it now. 'It's so empowering for women to be able to see that there are other women doing it. I think that pushes other women to do that I am delighted about.' She also said it was her dad who introduced her to being an electrician. 'Growing up on a dairy farm, I'm so used to working with my hands… the hard work was always built into me from such a young age. 'School was never really for me. I didn't enjoy it that much. The Leaving Cert didn't stress me out. After I did work experience in TY, I knew I wanted to do something different. 'My dad dropped me in with the local electrician for the week and I absolutely loved it.' Katelyn Cummins (Image: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD) Opening up about her decision to enter the Kerry festival, she said she was looking forward to meeting new friends. She said: 'It was the exciting idea of making new friends. I originally took part in the Laois selection because I didn't have that many friends in Laois and I wanted to make more friends and have a better social life in Laois with lots of new girls. 'With my job, I just work with a lot of lads all the time so it would be nice to meet a lot of new girls. After school, girls drift apart, and it was just wanting to make more friends in the area.' Katelyn added that seeing last year's Rose of Tralee winner Keeley O'Grady encouraged her to enter the competition. 'I'm 20 and I was approached by the coordinator back two years ago when I was working part-time in a hotel. She was going around scouting for girls and she asked. 'But I had just turned 18 and I felt I was too young for it. I was doing my Leaving Cert year as well. 'Then when I saw Keeley O'Grady was 21 and crowned the Rose of Tralee it just showed that anything is possible, and you didn't have to have a certain background or be a certain age. 'That's probably what pushed me. I think it's so empowering for girls this year because there was such a wide age group. There's a lot of younger girls going for it.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Extra.ie
12 hours ago
- Extra.ie
EXCLUSIVE: Rose of Tralee host Dáithí Ó Sé's son Ógie makes his Dome debut
Rose of Tralee host Dáithí Ó Sé skipped the after-after-party celebrations opting instead for a 'relatively' early' night in bed, can exclusively reveal. 'Her'e c'mere and I tell ya,' a jovial Dáithí told Extra. 'There was talk of a party at 3.45 in the morning and they were trying to get me to go but I got out of dodge,' he laughed. Seasoned star Dáithí, who once again hosted the Rose of Tralee to great aplomb, said he and his wife Rita- who he met while she was herself a rose competitor, opted for family time over fun times. Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'Rita and Ógie (Dáithí's affectionate name for his young son) were up in the room so I headed for the hills.' And it was indeed a special family occasion for the O'Sé clan, as wife Rita returned to the Dome for the first time in many years, with eleven-year-old Ogie making his Dome debut. 'Rita hasn't been back to the Dome for many years so she was delighted to come along with me this year and savour the atmosphere inside in the Dome,' Dáithí told Extra. Dáithí Ó Sé and his wife Rita. Pic: VIP Ireland And his mini-me son Ógie is already eyeing up his famous father's role as host with the most. 'And it was Ógie's first ever time to come to the Rose of Tralee and he was absolutely fascinated. He really enjoyed it. He was actually supposed to be heading home after Monday night but he cajoled us into allowing him to stay on,' laughed Dáithí And so content with watching from the wings little Ógie went full on Rose of Tralee mode. Dáithí Ó Sé. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'Sure when he saw everyone dressed up we went out and rented a Tuxedo for the final and he was off stage during rehearsals. So I think he's trying to do me out of a job,' laughed Daithi When pressed for some of the goings-on from the afterparty Dáithí said he was't privy to the celebrations. 'As I said I headed for the hills. Youth is but a wonderful thing. But I heard they went out all night with nary a wink of sleep to be had.'
Sunday World
12 hours ago
- Sunday World
Over half a million viewers tune in to see Katelyn Cummins crowned 2025 Rose of Tralee
This included viewers on both RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player The 2025 International Rose of Tralee is Katelyn Cummins selected on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night on Tuesday 19th of August. Photo by Domnick Walsh More than half a million viewers tuned in to watch Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins crowned as this year's winner of the Rose of Tralee. A peak audience of 532,000 people were watching at 11.20pm as Ms Cummins was crowned the 2025 International Rose of Tralee. This included viewers on both RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player. There was an average audience of 424,000 viewers across Monday and Tuesday night on RTÉ One and RTÉ One +1. Viewing figures for this year's edition are down on the 2024 Rose of Tralee, when a peak of 599,100 viewers tuned in to see New Zealand Rose Keeley O'Grady crowned the winner. 'The Rose of Tralee remains one of Ireland's most cherished cultural celebrations, and it's incredible to see it embraced by audiences not just at home, but around the world,' group head of entertainment and music for RTÉ Alan Tyler said. 'Whether on television, online, or across social media, this festival continues to captivate viewers connecting generations and communities in a uniquely Irish way.' There was an average audience of 505,000 watching following the news on RTÉ One, while there have been a total of 202,000 streams of the festival on the RTÉ Player, a record high. Some 102 countries had viewers, including the UK, the US, France, Germany, Greece, Canada, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, India, Kenya and Malaysia. RTÉ said Rose of Tralee content has drawn a record 13m views across its Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X accounts, and more than 500,000 engagements. The 2025 International Rose of Tralee is Katelyn Cummins selected on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night on Tuesday 19th of August. Photo by Domnick Walsh Today's News in 90 Seconds - August 20th
