Cara Comerford chosen as Waterford Rose 2026
On Saturday 14th of March, the Tower Hotel on the banks of the River Suir in Waterford City played host to 21 Waterford women, who were all vying to represent Waterford in Tralee, following two great years of Abby Walsh.
I was in attendance myself at this particular selection. Vice admin Lorcan was going to come originally but wasn't able to make it in the end. It was a great fun night and everything was organised well.
The night saw some fantastic variety of entertainment, such as one contestant performing a magic trick, another singing opera, some contestants doing Irish dancing, one contestant singing "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid, a contestant playing the accordion to "Killeagh", some harmonica playing to "Piano Man" and even some aerobics. Another contestant also entertained with a rendition of "Zombie" by The Cranberries.
But the night ultimately belonged to 21 year old Cara Comerford from Portlaw, who was the last Rose of the night onstage.
Cara Comerford posing for cameras, following her selection as Waterford Rose 2026.
Cara is 21 years old and from the village of Portlaw, just outside Waterford City. She is currently in her third year of studying Biomedical Engineering at Munster Technological University, and is currently doing a nine month work placement at Stryker Neurovascular in Cork, where she works in studying medical technology and healthcare innovation. She is also an accomplished Irish dancer, having dance since the age of 4.
Cara also has a family connection to the Rose of Tralee. Her late grandmother Jean, who had recently passed away, was the Kerry Rose in 1967. I'm sure her late nanny will be watching on proudly as Cara takes to the stage in August.
I myself was in attendance at the selection night. I initially was going to be accompanied by the group's Vice Admin Lorcan Paul Madigan, but he was unable to come that night. I really enjoyed the spectacle, seeing all the amazing women taking to the stage, and also got to meet some other Roses, past and present and even future.
I also had a little poster made, advertising the Facebook fan group. I walked around with it, before the show began and then during the break. If that's not enough, I was invited onstage as a finalist in the Best Banner contest of the night too. Although, to be honest, I wasn't really interested in winning the Best Banner Award, I just wanted an opportunity to get up onstage and advertised the group.
Down below are some other pictures I got that night:
Me with Kildare 2026 Rose Jess Hunter, who was in attendance that night.
Me with some other past Roses, most notably 2018 Rose winner Kirsten Mate Maher, who is a school friend of mine.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Waterford selection night, and I hope to do another one soon. I'll be thinking about going up to the Kilkenny Selection night on April 4th, so if I do, I'll keep you all updated.
For now though, on behalf of the group, we wish the best of luck to the 2026 Waterford Rose Cara Comerford, who has big shoes to fill in Abby Walsh. I'm sure she'll do the Deise county proud in August.
Facebook fan group link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1280950768910226
Stay tuned for more blog posts.
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