Rose of Tralee International Festival - Fans Blog

On Saturday February 21, San Francisco also chose their 2026 Rose. From a field of 8 San Francisco women vying for the coveted sash in a gala held at the United Irish Cultural Center, Sarah Johnston was chosen to represent San Francisco in the 2026 Rose of Tralee Festival. She takes the sash off of Maggie Baglin, who represented the city in 2024. On behalf of the Facebook fan group, we wish Sarah, her family, friends and community all the best over the coming months as they prepare for this exciting journey that will see them head to Tralee this coming August.  Facebook fan group link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1280950768910226 Stay tuned for more blog posts!   

  On Saturday 21 February, Sligo was one of the first to select their 2026 Rose entrants. 16 girls from all across County Sligo took to the stage in the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone on Saturday night for the chance to win the coveted Sligo sash.  After a night of interviews, performances and all around entertainment and fun, Rose MC Ollie Turner later revealed that Bethany McLoughlin was chosen as the Sligo Rose for 2026.  Bethany is 28 years old from Co. Sligo. After working for a number of years in childcare she is now following her love for music and is a full time musician and piano teacher. Bethany sings and plays the keyboard with the Atlantic Wedding Band and teaches piano through Kieran Quinn's piano programme. She plays piano, guitar and is teaching herself the mandolin. She also enjoys theatre and has taken part in a number of musicals over the years. She is involved in charity work and has helped with and organized fundraisers/events over the years. She lo...

  Over the last few weeks, viewers have been watching Dancing With The Stars on RTE One every Sunday. Last night the programme celebrated its 100th episode, and many past dancers came to celebrate the milestone.  It was a memorable night for incumbent Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins, who along with her pro-partner Leonardo Lini, recreated the winning dance of 2019 champion Mairead Ronan, a stunning Viennese Waltz to "You Are The Reason" by Calum Scott. If that wasn't enough, Katelyn and Leonardo bagged the official highest score of the whole series and the entire history of the show, 50 points! The extra 10 points came from having former presenter Nicky Byrne as a guest judge. As such, Katelyn and Leonardo sail into next week's quarterfinal with ease. On the other end of the spectrum, it was a fond farewell to Fair City actress Stephanie Kelly and her pro-partner Ervinas Merfeldas, who were eliminated from the competition via the dance off against Apprentice star Jorda...

 Tonight, the 2026 Rose of Tralee selection season kicks off, with 2 selection events in both Ireland and America.   Tonight in Ireland, Sligo will be selecting their 2026 Rose. 16 girls from across the Yeats county will take to the stage in the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone, County Sligo.  The 16 girls hoping to the win the coveted Sligo Rose sash are:  * Emma Barden Healy  * Jade Scott  * Emma Sherlock  * Lauren Gallagher  * Rianna Corcoran  * Maisie Farrell  * Jessica Casey  * Megan Friel  * Emma Finnigan  * Katie Gaff  * Bethany McLoughlin  * Alanna Corcoran  * Regina Murphy  * Aoife Mitchell  * Amy Connolly  * Katelyn Rafter  Elsewhere, on the other side of the ocean, in San Francisco, the 2026 San Francisco Rose will be selected, at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. Eight girls will be competing for the San Francisco sash, and they are:  * Hannah Colli...

Over the past few weeks, Rose of Tralee fans over the country have been intriguingly watching the incumbent Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins perform on RTE's Dancing with the Stars with Leonardo Lini as her partner.  Katelyn has knocked it out of the park each week, scoring two top of the leaderboard finishes, and just last night bagged the immune vote on the programme's Dedicated Dance week, meaning that Katelyn and Leonardo will not be in danger of elimination in next week's programme.  The competition has been fierce too. The Apprentice star Jordan Dargan has proven to be a serious contender alongside Katelyn, as last night, he bagged the highest score with 3 10s from the judges. Meanwhile, Paudie Moloney of The Traitors bagged the lowest score of the night.  On the topic of the dance, Katelyn's Dedicated dance went out to her parents. Katelyn explained how her parents helped her embrace her hearing disability from a young age. As the competition continues, we wish Kat...