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BIRTHDAY celebrations were put on hold for the Rose of Tralee, Maggie McEldowney, so that she could announce details of the 2017 Rose of Tralee International Festival from August 16-22.

Instead of blowing out the 28 birthday candles in her native city of Chicago on January 2, Maggie arrived into Ireland to launch the search for her successor at the end of a brief tour of counties in Ulster and Leinster.

Sixty-five Roses from Ireland and Irish communities around the globe will travel to Kerry for the seven-day festival while the 2017 Rose of Tralee will be crowned live on RTÉ on Tuesday, August 22.

Whoever is picked as their 2017 county, city, state or national Rose will travel to Tralee in August to enjoy everything that Ireland’s flagship family festival has to offer – parades, gala functions, entertainment, televised Rose selection nights, a Rose Tour and much more.

Maggie McEldowney, who is Director of Development at Marist High School, said: “Entering the Rose of Tralee has been the best decision of my life so far. It is a celebration of all that is good about being Irish and I am encouraging Irish women and those with Irish ancestry to take part in a life changing experience. There is so much more that happens beyond the TV show in August. I was blown away by the amazing people I met during last year's Festival and I am thrilled to be part of the search for the 2017 Rose of Tralee.”

Selections will take place from February to June and anyone interested in entering their local Rose of Tralee event can do so online at www.roseoftralee.ie.

As the Lead Sponsor of the Rose of International Festival, Tipperary Crystal will present, the 2017 Rose of Tralee with a complete collection of Tipperary Crystal Fine Jewellery, a range of high quality products from their Giftware and Homeware Collections. She’ll wear the splendid new featuring the Rose motif as the central framework, adorned in glistening crystals and the exquisitely crafted Crystal Perpetual Trophy.

The next Rose of Tralee will drive away from Tralee in a brand new KIA from McElligotts Tralee, a World Travel Prize valued at €25,000, a weeklong holiday in Kerry from Kerry County Council, a tablet complete with a year’s subscription to Independent.ie, and a bouquet from flowers.ie while Sean Taaffe Group will look after all the hair styling needs of the 2017 Rose of Tralee.

Every return visit to Tralee during the 2017 Rose of Tralee’s reign will be spent in comfort at the magnificent 4-star Rose Hotel, the home to the Rose of Tralee International Festival.

To find details of a Rose Selection near you and to apply online, visit www.roseoftralee.ie.

Maggie celebrated her 28th birthday on January 2. She visited Armagh, Derry, Donegal, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Dublin to promote the search for 2017 Roses in those counties. She will be travelling along with some fellow Roses and Rose Escorts to Belarus with Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children International in February and will return to Ireland for St Patrick’s Day weekend in March.
 

 
Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowney was in Dublin at the weekend to officially start the search for her successor and to announce details of the 2017 Rose of Tralee International Festival from August 16-22.
PICTURE: DOMNICK WALSH