a day ago
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- Irish Independent
‘I was the proudest man inside there' – family of Cork Rose Nancy Lehane show their support in Tralee
A strong cohort of people from Cork and Waterford descended upon Tralee to support Nancy Lehane in her bid to be the 67th Rose of Tralee on Tuesday.
The primary school teacher is from the small Duhallow village of Meelin, known as the highest village in Ireland, and Nancy's father, Denis, believes his daughter put the location on the map.
During her TV appearance, Nancy stunned the audience with a heartfelt rendition of the 'Village of the Hills', a love song written about her native Meelin by Connie Collins.
Rose of Tralee co-host Kathryn Thomas asked Nancy what the song meant to her. The Cork Rose replied:
'This is a personal one all right. I don't think anyone knows it except the Meelin clan,' said Nancy, whose statement was met with a loud roar of approval from her supporters.
'We are very proud of Nancy as are out very small parish of Meelin. She really put Meelin on the map and we are very proud of the song she sang as well,' Denis said.
'It is a local song written by a good friend of ours, God rest him, and it meant an awful lot to us and the parish.
'I think she did the parish justice, for sure.'
Nancy's mother, Annemarie, said a neighbour passed away before Nancy took to the stage, so the song was extra 'poignant' for the people of Meelin.
'Our neighbour and staunch Meelin councillor Timmy Collins passed away just before she went on stage, and we didn't tell her, so the song is event more poignant now,' Annemarie said. 'May he rest in peace.'
J Turner's Bar on Castle Street had the honour of being twinned with Nancy, and Annemarie said having a hub made it a 'personalised' experience for the family.
'The twinning with the pubs is lovely because it makes you feel thought of and it's very personalised.
'It is great to have a place to connect with our community as well,' Annemarie said.
Aidan Turner of J Turner's Bar said he is hoping Nancy will win this evening, as it will be the second win for a Rose twinned with his premises in a row.
'Oh my God they are one huge family full of craic and musicians.
'The songs I heard last night were like something I never heard before in all my 50 years.
'I was an escort, a steward, and I actually run the Féile in Tralee as well.
'We get involved every year and we had a winner last year.
'We're going for two-in-a-row now,' Aidan said with a loud applause behind him.
Nancy's brother Diarmuid echoed his mother's thoughts and said the pub welcomed proud Meelin people with open arms.
'It is great to have a base for the week, and to be fair to Aidan and all of his staff, they have been more than good, and they welcomed us with open arms,' Diarmuid said.
He continued to say he was the 'proudest man' at the festival on Monday night.
'I was the proudest man inside there yesterday, I have to say that.
'The support that we have from Meelin is second to none, it is outrageous.
'From the county of Cork and my mother's side in Waterford,' he said.
Nancy used to travel to the Deise County to watch the Rose of Tralee with her cousins every summer, and many made the trip to Tralee to show their support.
Rachel and Áine O'Brien are two of Nancy's Waterford cousins and they found their stint in Tralee to be 'welcoming.'
They said being inside the Dome at MTU was a dream come true.
'We would watch the Rose of Tralee in my house or Rachel's house, and Nancy would come down because we would be on summer holidays and watch it together.
'When Nancy actually went for it we didn't think she would become the Cork Rose, but she's here,' Áine said.
All 32 Roses will discover their fate this evening as the 67th Rose of Tralee comes to a conclusion.
The Rose of Tralee is live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm.
