Latest news with #Katelyn
Irish Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- 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
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
'Women should be celebrated' -- Rose of Tralee Winner Katelyn Cummins responds to pageant criticism
The newly crowned Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins was positively blooming this morning, despite only having 40 minutes sleep after her triumphant win last night. Katelyn, was escorted into the Rose Garden in Tralee wearing a lace pastel green dress with a Laois flag proudly billowing from the window of her chauffeur driven car. Apprentice electrician Katelyn spoke about wearing a hearing aid when she appeared on the stage at The Dome in Tralee. Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins is selected as the 2025 International Rose of Tralee. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'I suppose having hearing disability does have its challenges as well. But I wanted to make this experience was about me and not about my disability, which was, I suppose, different for most people. 'But I wanted to make it about me, my personality and everything else, and not just about my disability.' As well as being the first Laois Rose Katelyn, also made history by being the first Rose to forge a career as an electrician Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins jiving on stage with her Escort Tommy Meade. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'I'm absolutely delighted to be able to represent women in the trade world,' she added. 'It's absolutely incredible. I think I'm actually inspiring a lot of young girls, and hope to continue to.' Katelyn said that while she has made the decision to turn to college she says it shouldn't define women or impact their future prospects. Kathryn Thomas with 2025 International Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'I just want to make it aware that most women can make that decision for themselves. 'I think it's just very important that we are made aware of it and I think a lot of women really do think they do have to go to college.' And talking to reporters regarding criticism of the Rose of Tralee festival and of pageants in general Katelyn, told that 'women should be celebrated' regardless. Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins is selected as the 2025 International Rose of Tralee. Pic: Domnick Walsh 'I think women should be celebrated no matter what it is. 'I don't think there is a personal preference, whether it could be a pageant or a rose. 'I think they're all equally celebrating women. I think it's just amazing that women are so confident in themselves and they're wanting to put themselves forward to be able to represent themselves, a community (and) their family.'
Agriland
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Agriland
2025 Rose of Tralee winner hails from dairy farm in Laois
An apprentice electrician from a dairy farming background in Co. Laois has been crowned the 2025 Rose of Tralee. Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins, from Ballyouskill on the Laois/Kilkenny border, became the 65th winner of the competition, and the first winner of the competition from Co. Laois, during the second evening of this year's competition last night (Tuesday, August 19). The 20-year-old is currently in the third phase of an electrical apprenticeship, and hopes to do an engineering degree in the future. Katelyn grew up on a dairy farm, where she said her "love for the outdoors has blossomed from". She is currently the chairperson of North Kilkenny Macra. Outside of her trade and farming background, she has also seen success with her local camogie club, and also takes part in set dancing and jiving. In a post on Facebook, North Kilkenny Macra said: "Huge congrats to our amazing chairperson for winning the Rose of Tralee. Katelyn's grace, charm, and unreal jiving skills truly shone on stage. "We're beyond proud of her representing us with such poise and talent. We can't wait to see [her] back in Ballyouskill and what a night we will have. What a remarkable achievement," North Kilkenny Macra said. Katelyn Cummins at work on the family farm As a 'Rose' with a farming background, Agriland spoke to Katelyn earlier this month about growing up on a dairy farm. She told Agriland: "Our dairy farm in Castlemarket, near Ballyouskill on the border of Kilkenny and Laois, has been in the family for four generations. My dad took it over from his father and has since progressed with it. "Being in the outdoors from a young age and learning to work definitely shaped me into who I am today," she added. Katelyn said she always helped out a lot on the farm when she was young, feeding calves, milking cows, covering silage pits and dosing cattle. "Being the oldest child in my family, I never had much choice but to help out, but I will say it will always be a memory I can share with my dad," she said. She decided to pursue a career as an electrician after completing a week of work experience with a local electrician while in Transition Year. "I loved every second. We worked on various different sites, such as a cheese factory; a swimming pool; a warehouse, and a normal house. I was so intrigued by the different schematics needed in each different setting," she said. "Growing up on the farm is a huge part of why I am training to be an electrician today. The support and enthusiasm I got from local neighbours and friends was extremely positive. It definitely helped me to keep pursuing my goals," Katelyn told Agriland.
Extra.ie
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
'I'm raring to go' - New Rose of Tralee just wants to get back to work
The new Rose of Tralee has said that she won't be letting the crown get in the way of her completing her apprenticeship. 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.
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Reason Rose of Tralee didn't get tiara and the lavish prize she'll get instead
The Rose of Tralee crowned its 65th winner last night, with the title going to 20-year-old Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins. Katelyn, who grew up on a dairy farm and is now completing an electrical apprenticeship, was announced as this year's Rose just before 11.30pm, live on RTE. She was presented with her sash by last year's winner in front of an emotional audience in Tralee. The Laois woman rose to the top of a strong field of 32 Roses, with co-hosts Kathryn Thomas and Dáithí Ó Sé revealing her as the 2025 champion. While Katelyn takes home the prestigious title and a prize package worth tens of thousands, one thing is still missing - the iconic tiara. For decades, the winner of the Rose of Tralee was presented with a bespoke headpiece designed by Waterford Crystal and Tipperary Crystal. But in 2022, organisers scrapped the tradition following public feedback. At the time, Westmeath Rose and 2022 winner Rachel Duffy explained the move. She told Radio Kerry: "For all the young girls out there, it's about developing self-confidence and being okay with being yourself. You don't need a tiara to be a winner." Since then, RTE confirmed that "there is no tiara" for the winning Rose, a decision that continues to divide opinion. Instead of a tiara, Katelyn will enjoy a lavish prize package that includes: World travel voucher worth €25,000, Kia Niro plug-in hybrid car worth worth over €40,000 for her year as Rose Complimentary stays at the 4-star Meadowlands Hotel every time she returns to Tralee Free hair styling throughout the year from Brush 'N' Blush Hair and Beauty Week-long adventure in Kerry, for her and a guest, hosted by Kerry County Council Despite the impressive rewards, many viewers admitted they still miss the traditional crowning moment. Social media lit up last night with calls to bring back the tiara. Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins (Image: RTE News) One person asked online: "Is there no tiara for the new Rose of Tralee?" to which someone replied: "They got rid of the Tiara in 2022. The organisers said it was because of public feedback that it was outdated because young girls watching at home would be self conscious about it. They said that its ok to be yourself and that you don't need a tiara to be a winner." Another asked the official Rose of Tralee twitter account: "Can ye sort out the tiara situation before next year please??" A third wrote: "I have this issue every year. I hate that there is no crown or tiara for the winner. It's such a let down. It was always so special. Surely something they could reintroduce." Someone else stated: "Hate the way it end, no tiara or going down to meet her family." Another joked: "May need to start a gofundme for a new tiara." Other comments included: "So not the same without the tiara", "Bring back the hasn't been the same since they did away with it" and "Petition to bring back the tiara!" The debate is nothing new. In 2023, when New York Rose Roisin Wiley went without the headpiece, a fan poll on X (formerly Twitter) showed 87.5% of voters wanted the tiara reinstated. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
