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Carl Mullan on being a Rose of Tralee escort: ‘I swear to god it was the hardest work I have ever done'

Irish Times

12 hours ago

Entertainment
Irish Times

Carl Mullan on being a Rose of Tralee escort: ‘I swear to god it was the hardest work I have ever done'

Kicking off at 8pm this evening on RTÉ 1, 32 Roses and escorts will take the stage at MTU's Sports Academy in Kerry for this year's Rose of Tralee . The variety show/beauty pageant/lovely girl competition's first selection night will see 18 roses performing, followed by another 17 taking to the stage tomorrow night. Both the winning rose and the winning escort will be announced at the end of tomorrow night's broadcast. [ Rose of Tralee judge Dr Clare Kambamettu: A 'tiny but loud minority' drives racism in Ireland Opens in new window ] Radio and social media star Carl Mullan, who will perform the role of Master of Ceremonies at the 2025 Rose of Tralee Festival, says being an escort in the 2016 iteration was 'the hardest work I have ever done'. READ MORE 'I remember you'd get to bed at 2 o'clock in the morning having just been fulfilling your escort duties and then you would be up at 7 o'clock in the morning', the 2fm host says. 'Everyone thinks you are off having the craic in town – but I remember thinking: 'Where is the time for this? There is none!'" Mullan acted as an escort for both the 2016 Donegal Rose and the Scotland Rose, as that year the organisers hosted 65 roses from each Rose Centre rather than the customary 32 which rotate among Rose Centres. 'I used to work on the Nikki and Jenny show on 2fm as a reporter and we did a segment called Crash Test Dummy. 'I used to do all kinds of everything. I ate the world's hottest chicken wings, I did a downhill ice-skating event, I did a downhill mountain-biking race. I would throw my hat into anything and as a joke one year it came up in conversation: 'You should try and apply to be a Rose escort and see how far you get.' 'I went as an escort/reporter in 2016, but listen, I was a fully fledged escort. Let me tell you everyone thinks that those lads are down here for a jolly and that they are doing nothing. I did it once, never again. It was way too much work than I was able for. I was exhausted after dealing with it.' [ 'I had cancer but was sent home with paracetamol': The 2025 Roses on their health histories Opens in new window ] However, in spite of his hard work, the presenter looks back on his time as an escort fondly: 'It was lovely getting to know all the people and seeing the inner workings of the Rose of Tralee. I only knew it as a TV show but actually coming down and realising it is a festival and that there is such a community element to it; the parades and seeing the joy that it brings to people, was amazing.' 'I think we should always make space for something like that' Mullan says. Like the Sistine Chapel Hailing from San Francisco, Leo McFadden is thoroughly enjoying his experience as an escort. 'It's incredibly hard to describe [being an escort] without experiencing it. It's like going to a major historical site like the Sistine Chapel: you walk in to the room. You can't really describe the feeling but when you go in there it is incredible. 'It is something that hits you in a way that you can't experience without doing it. 'That's the best way I can describe it honestly,' says the security contractor. Leo McFadden the 2025 escort of the Queensland Rose Mr McFadden was inspired by his sister who was the 2023 San Francisco Rose, saying 'seeing it from a third-person view was absolutely incredible'. In terms of how he views the role of escort, Mr McFadden says: 'If the roses are the flowers, I think we [the escorts] are the stem. 'We do what we can to support them so they can flourish, and each rose is unique. Each escort has to have a unique approach to do that, but it's an absolutely once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world.' Also from California is Seamus Ruiz-Earle, a venture capitalist and the escort to the 2025 Luxembourg Rose. Mr Ruiz-Earle says he stumbled on the festival 'out of the blue' while visiting family in Kildare in August last year. He looked up what was happening in Ireland during that month and came across the Rose of Tralee. 'The more I did research, the more I wanted to be involved and being an escort seems like the best possible way to do that,' the CEO says. Seamus Ruiz Earle, escort of the 2025 Luxembourg Rose In terms of trying to describe the festival to American friends, Mr Ruiz-Earle says: 'No one understands. From an American perspective, there isn't anything like it.' However, the appeal of being an escort for Forbes 30 under 30 tech alum is in making connections with Irish people his own age, rather than just family members. 'I come back two or three times a year to visit family but I've never had friends in the country.' 'The opportunity to call each of the 32 lads, and now the 32 Roses friends, is really something that I look forward to.' He says he is also excited to be 'able to shoot a message into a group chat and go out and have a great time when I'm back in the country and make even more memories'. With so many young men keen to apply to be escorts, would there ever be an argument for a gender-flipped Rose of Tralee? Mullan says that such a competition would 'probably a lot less inspiring'. 'But listen maybe they should give it a go. I can guarantee I would not be applying to take part in that myself.'

Rose of Tralee judge Dr Clare Kambamettu: A ‘tiny but loud minority' drives racism in Ireland

Irish Times

a day ago

Entertainment
Irish Times

Rose of Tralee judge Dr Clare Kambamettu: A ‘tiny but loud minority' drives racism in Ireland

Rose of Tralee judge and 2010 winner Dr Clare Kambamettu says she cannot see 'rhyme or reason' for why hatred is targeted towards people because of their ethnicity, background of culture. She is thinking of the recent alleged vicious assault of Sonali Flynn, an Irish- Indian woman who was celebrating on the streets of Tralee after Kerry's All-Ireland win. Dr Kambamettu, a clinical psychologist, is 'extremely proud' of her Irish-Indian heritage. 'It was something during my year as Rose of Tralee that was hugely important and probably shaped the whole year,' she says. READ MORE Her late father, Dr Ravi Kambamettu, moved to the State from India in the 1970s even though he had 'barely heard of Ireland', she says. 'He always spoke about how welcoming he found it.' However, she says, he experienced increased racism here towards the end of his life, 'which was something he hadn't experienced that much before'. The 2010 London Rose said: 'As Irish people we have our own story of having to leave or choosing to leave in search of a better life or sometimes even just to survive. 'We have had our own struggles in terms of how we have been welcomed in other parts of the world. We have experienced racism ourselves and so I think that makes me feel all the more sad and hurt by it. We should know better.' Dr Clare Kambamettu: "My Irish-Indian heritage is something that I am extremely proud of". However, she believes it is a 'very tiny but obviously very loud and dangerous' minority who perpetrate these narratives. 'I also think that we do know better ... I think that the majority of Irish people still remain welcoming of diversity and people from different walks of life but often their voices are drowned out because they are not the loudest.' Dr Kambamettu believes the online sphere has facilitated a rise in hateful rhetoric. 'I do think that there's a lawlessness to the online world and social media' she says. She says her fiancé Ryan Tubridy received 'horrible' abuse in the week of controversy over RTÉ payments two summers ago. Ryan Tubridy and Dr Clare Kambamettu recently confirmed their engagement. Photograph:Dr Kambamettu says she 'feels a great deal of empathy' for people who are experiencing abuse or vitriol targeted towards them. 'Nobody wants someone they love and care about to experience that.' She is condemns recent high-profile attacks on people of Indian heritage in Ireland, saying: 'There is no excuse for racism or bigotry. Ignorance is not an excuse.' [ Ryan Tubridy announces engagement to Dr Clare Kambamettu Opens in new window ] 'It's obvious that some healing needs to happen. I don't know exactly how that can happen,' she says, adding that the solution requires short-term and long-term thinking. 'I think that Irish and Indian communities need to come together, and probably the emphasis is on the Irish community reaching out to their Indian communities,' she says.

Ryan Tubridy and Dr Clare Kambamettu 'in a gorgeous bubble of love' ahead of wedding

Extra.ie

3 days ago

Entertainment
Extra.ie

Ryan Tubridy and Dr Clare Kambamettu 'in a gorgeous bubble of love' ahead of wedding

Clare Kambamettu can remember the exact moment when the Rose Of Tralee crown was placed on her head in 2010. 'I think I remember the shock of the moment rather than the moment itself,' she says, laughing. 'I can remember my name being called out and then I remember so well seeing my parents in the crowd, walking down to them and the parade afterwards. 'Then I definitely remember being woken up the next morning after about three hours' sleep and having to prepare for being in front of a news camera. It's a special moment.' Clare Tubridy and Ryan Tubridy. Pic: Getty Images The Kildare woman, who has lived in Athy for most of her life and currently works in Laois, is heading back down to Tralee for this year's festival, this time to help judge the competition and to pick the young woman who will represent Ireland on the international stage. 'I am so excited about going back down for a few different reasons,' she says. 'I mean, obviously the festival means so much to me, and has had such an impact on my life, so I'm really proud to be part of the judging panel this year. 'Then I'm really excited to see all of my friends who are going to be down there as well. My escort from 2010 is a guy called Donal Gill, he's now one of my best friends. He is actually going to be coming down over the weekend and coming to the various different events with me again. I call him my 'best-cort'. Pic: Ryan Tubridy 'I'm just so looking forward to meeting the 32 women,' she says of the Roses hoping to take the title home with them. 'I've been looking at their applications over the last couple of weeks and it's so good to be meeting them so soon because I have questions.' She remembers when she and Donal were paired together and reckons it was because they both worked in healthcare, as Donal is now a social worker while Clare is a psychologist. He is also from Galway. 'I think I had put down on my application that I loved Connemara and Galway,' she says. 'I think the committee thought that we would have a lot in common and we definitely do.' Ryan Tubridy and Clare Kambamettu. Pic: Michael Chester From the get-go the pair became firm friends and decided to stay in touch. 'Oh, I more than kept in touch,' she says laughing. 'I moved into his house the year afterwards when I started college in Galway. I rented a room in his house for three years when I was doing my postgrad and then I was very proudly involved in his wedding as a witness a couple of years ago as he will be in mine.' Ah yes, speaking of weddings, Clare has recently got engaged to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy and is busy organising their big day. She doesn't want to talk too much about it as they like to keep their relationship private but, she says, she understands the interest, given Ryan's profile. Ryan Tubridy and Clare Kambamettu. Pic: Michael Chester 'We're obviously in a lovely bubble at the moment and just excited and very happy and looking forward to the future,' she says. The engagement happened in Connemara, a place close to the hearts of both Ryan and Clare, and she had no idea it was coming. '[It was] a wonderful surprise and I think Ryan did a fantastic job in choosing my gorgeous engagement ring, which I am still obsessed with,' she says. 'It was a really lovely, special moment and it's just been a gorgeous bubble of love since.' Connemara was important to her as she spent a lot of time there as a child in her mum's holiday home. It is a place that is special to Ryan too. She wasn't expecting him to pop the question but admits they had already spoken about marriage. Like all couples that are together a while, you have conversations about these types of things,' Clare says. 'So I wouldn't say that we'd never spoken about this but it wasn't something that I thought was imminent or that was on his mind.' But though she won't reveal any dates, plans are already well under way for the wedding. The bride-to-be has even bought her wedding dress. 'The plans have all been surprisingly easy so everything is coming together,' Clare says. 'I got my dress a couple of weeks ago from a bridal boutique in Naas called Cirq. They use sustainable bridal wear. Jennifer, who owns Cirq, sources all of her dresses through brides who are looking to sell on their dresses or she sells them on behalf of charities, etc. She's just an absolute gem to deal with so yes, I have that sorted and a few bits left to do, so it's very exciting.' It's been a whirlwind since the pair were spotted together – and at a turbulent time in Tubridy's life, Clare seems to have been a steadying hand. Being in the public eye before as the Rose of Tralee has helped a bit with the level of interest in their relationship but even winning the competition didn't garner as many headlines. Clare entered the competition after an Athy woman, Seanin Kenny, won in 2009. It was something she had noticed while working in London and reading the Kildare Nationalist from home. 'Seanin was also the London Rose,' Clare says. 'She went out to Malawi at one point and I was looking at her report of her trip out there and I hadn't realised that that was something you had the opportunity to do.' It was the realisation that you could get involved in different charities at home and abroad that made Clare decide to enter the London Rose competition. At the time she was living and working in London and her then roommate Sarah Kate Byrne persuaded her to go for the competition. 'She encouraged me to go for it and I thought, why not?' Clare says. 'She was a brilliant support to me. She is a stylist to the stars, she does all of ITV's racing styling, mostly vintage fashion.' Sarah Kate and Clare rustled up a wardrobe from second-hand and vintage stores for her Tralee adventures but the dress she was wearing on the night she won was designed by Paul Costelloe. Sustainability is very important to Clare and she will be wearing some outfits from charity shops in Tralee this year. 'I did have quite a few dresses during that trip that would have come from charity shops,' she says. 'I'm always in and out of the ones in Portlaoise and Athy. I pick up loads of bits and pieces for work and everything else. It's so fun because you don't know what you are going to find. That's part of the beauty of it. 'If you're looking for something and you don't have a particular kind of shape or style in mind, you can just go for it. I've definitely worn things that I wouldn't have probably bought or looked at if I was going into a shop or looking online, and have discovered things that really suit me that I wouldn't have known before.' Becoming the 2010 Rose of Tralee changed Clare's life and opened up many doors for her but it is the special moments she shared with family and friends that are etched in her memories. 'It was everything,' she says. 'I have really memorable moments from the year. We made a documentary with my parents. We went out to India for three weeks together with a documentary crew and the Voluntary Service Overseas team. That's something that I'll never forget, it is imprinted in my mind We went to my family home in Hyderabad, which is in South India, and then we travelled around to see some of the VSO's different projects in different parts of the country. VSO has an ethos whereby they set up projects and then they try and remove themselves from the process, the idea being that you empower communities on the ground to do things. 'So there were projects that involved provision of clean water and then there were projects that involved developing environmentally friendly products that were made out of bits of fabric that were scavenged from dumps. 'So it was about recycling and reusing and turning fabric into something that was then sold in high-end malls and employing people all the way up from the people who were in the dumps, finding these fabrics, to the people who were making these the different handbags and things, employing them with a fair wage and with proper conditions. It's everything from those two examples to everything in between. 'My dad died a few years ago so I suppose the memories that I made with him during the festival and with my family in India, who previously would not have known about the festival and then got really excited about the whole year and followed everything that I was doing. With my dad passing away since, it has made this all the more special.' During her title year, Clare did everything from school prize-givings, charity fundraisers and community events to travelling to Washington. 'I was down at the Dan Paddy Andy Festival in Kerry, where I learned to brush dance, I went to garden parties in Áras an Uachtaráin, I went to the White House on St Patrick's Day and Washington DC and New York. I travelled to Australia and all over Europe. It just really broadened my horizons in that way.' She was determined to make the most of her year and actually gave up her job, one that she had fought hard to get. 'I gave up my job and my dad thought I had lost the plot,' she says, laughing. 'I had worked really hard to get the job in King's College in London, which is really prestigious in the academic world. I had just started a few months beforehand. 'So he was saying to me, 'What? You're giving up your job in the middle of a recession and moving home?' But sure then he was delighted. I left my job as a research assistant psychologist at that time and took a year out and then I went back into my clinical psychology training the year afterwards.' Some 15 years later, Clare can say without a doubt that taking the risk was totally worth it. 'The festival team is great in that they tell you to make the year your own and do what you feel like doing so you can do as much or as little as you want,' she says. 'It's entirely led by the Rose. I had a ball and I think being that little bit older now, what I really loved was the opportunity to have done things that I wouldn't have done otherwise and also having been able to share those with important people in my life.' Now the nervewracking job will be to help pick a new Rose to join the special WhatsApp group of past winners, which Clare says is always hopping with messages. 'I know how life-changing it can be,' she says. 'The festival is so precious to me and essentially, it feels like you're trying to find the right person for the job to represent the festival around the world, which is a lot of responsibility. 'The group of women that I know through the Rose of Tralee, I want to make sure that I do a good job for them as well because we'll be inviting a new Rose sister in to join that WhatsApp group. So it's really important to choose the right person. 'The 32 women that are going to be down there, I've been looking at their applications over the last couple of weeks and they are so impressive. At this point, it feels like every single one of them would be an amazing addition to that family.' Tubridy unfortunately can't make it to Tralee with her this year as he's working in London, but having spent a year as the chief Rose, Clare doesn't appear to need any support. 'It gave me a confidence that I didn't know I lacked,' she says. 'It's not that I was a particularly anxious or socially anxious person at all but when you're thrown into events of every description over the course of a year and where you're often asked to say a few words completely unprepared, you learn that you can trust yourself. 'I learned that I can rely on myself in any situation, that I'd be okay. That's a really valuable life skill.' For this year's winner, Clare would love her to make the most of her year. 'I would love for her to make the year her own, to bring who she is as a person, her values, her moral compass, her interests to it and to let those parts of her shape her experience,' she says. 'The important thing is to let go of other people's expectations of what you're going to do and to believe in yourself and back yourself enough to do those things that are really important to you.' The Rose of Tralee will be on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player on Monday, August 18, and Tuesday, August 19, from 8pm .

Jewellers who 'leaked' Ryan Tubridy's engagement say they had permission to share it

Sunday World

18-06-2025

Entertainment
Sunday World

Jewellers who 'leaked' Ryan Tubridy's engagement say they had permission to share it

He announced the engagement on his radio show yesterday Dr Clare Kambamettu with her now fiance Ryan Tubridy in Dublin city centre. Photo: Mark Doyle A Clifden jeweller who was accused of 'leaking' Ryan Tubridy's engagement news have said they had permission to share it. O'Dalaigh Jewellers posted a photograph of the radio presenter and his now-fiancée outside their store and thanked him for choosing their shop to buy her ring in a now-deleted post. Reps for Tubridy asked them to remove the post, which reportedly prompted the 52-year-old to announce his engagement to Dr Clare Kambamettu on his Virgin Radio UK show yesterday. Dr Clare Kambamettu with her now fiance Ryan Tubridy in Dublin city centre. Photo: Mark Doyle News in 90 Seconds - June 18th The family-run Cliden jewellers have insisted they didn't leak the news, and had permission from Tubs to do so. On their Facebook page, one person accused them of being 'desperate for exposure.' 'It's a pity this jewellers were so desperate for exposure that they choose to tell everyone about Ryan Tubridy's engagement before he and his partner choose to and also the details of the ring. 'While they may have a great reputation… trust ,respect and privacy are what clients, regardless of who they are expect and this jewellers broke all of those so I would think twice about going to them. 'Their post was removed from Social Media but not before 'their damage' was In response, the store said they were given the 'green light' to share the post over the weekend. 'As a 50-year-old business who has dealt with many celebrities including Ryan before, we are absolutely stringent about honouring personal customer information. The couple outside O'Dalaigh Jewellers in Clifden with a staff member 'We would never dream of posting anything so personal without prior permission. 'In this instance, we were given the green light to put up the post over the weekend. 'However, we wished to give the couple time to spread the word themselves, so we chose to post it 4 days later,' they continued. 'For unknown reasons we were asked to take down the post, which we promptly did. 'I know you will join us in congratulating the happy couple and focus on celebrating a beautiful moment in their lives. They are truly such a lovely couple.' Speaking on his radio show, which is also broadcast on Dublin's Q102, the former Late Late Show host announced he got engaged while visiting the west of Ireland last week. 'I have a little bit of news that I've been keeping to myself, to ourselves,' he told listeners at the start of the show on Tuesday morning. "I'm very, very, very happy to confirm I did get engaged to my partner Clare in the west of Ireland on Thursday evening.' Tubridy thanked a number of listeners for sending in their well-wishes following the announcement and said 'it's a very beautiful feeling' and 'a very exciting time to be alive'. "We were surrounded by gorgeous people who we didn't know, strangers in the hotel, and people who were working around the place and got a beautiful ring organised, and the weather was gorgeous,' he said of the couple's time last week. "And it's just the accumulation of a lot of lovely things happening, and I just decided now is the time. More to follow in terms of details and all the rest of it. And by the more to follow, I mean I'll tell my family first. Read more Ryan Tubridy confirms engagement to long-time girlfriend after jeweller lets cat out of bag "It's a very exciting time to be alive. I'm a very, very lucky man, and I think it's one of those beautiful moments where the world feels lighter.' Tubridy and Dr Kambamettu, a former Rose of Tralee winner, made their relationship public in 2023 when they appeared at the Irish Post Awards in London. He joked people had told him he had 'some tan' from his time spent on Connemara, but he had actually gone 'pink and red from sitting on a lake in Renvyle'.

Did a jeweller's social media post take the shine off Ryan Tubridy's big engagement reveal?

Irish Independent