Rose of tralee visits meath

The Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, enjoyed an action-packed tour of Meath last Sunday as she completed the final leg of her tour of Ireland in the Royal County.
The Philadelphia Rose, who originally hails from Mayo, conducted her tour with Meath Rose, Sinead O’Sullivan, Rose of Tralee Co-Ordinator, Gordon Weldon, and Cllr Shane Cassells who had proposed the visit.
She began her tour in Drumree where she met with the Meath and Cavan minor ladies football teams following their challenge game at the local GAA pitch.

Meath LGFA secretary,  Mary O’Regan and team captain, Hannah Heskin welcomed Maria to the clubhouse where she met with all of the players and spoke of her own GAA career. She was presented with a Meath jersey by Hannah on behalf of the players.
From there she went to the Hill of Tara where she met with Navan Shamrock Festival Chairman, Padraig Fitzsimons, and his committee in order to launch their 2015 festival. She was given a quick tour of the historic site by Meath Tourism Chairman, Cllr Noel French, who also presented with her a piece of shamrock plucked from the base of St Patrick’s statue.

Next up was Ard Rí Community National School where local students had donned their uniforms and came into school on their day off in order to welcome the Rose of Tralee along with their principal, Darragh Roe. Although only opened five years, the school has grown quickly and Ms Walsh was delighted to meet with the students and parents of the multi-denominational school.
There was a very emotional stop at the SOSAD suicide awareness centre where Maria and Sinead met with director, Marie Johnson and her staff. They presented Maria with a Friendship Survival box, which contained a variety of items.

Afterwards the two Roses travelled to Navan’s Blackwater Park where they planted a rose bush and unveiled a plaque, which carried the quote from German Poet Angelus Silesius: “The Rose is without an explanation; She blooms, because she blooms.”
Formal ceremonies concluded with a civic reception in Navan Town Hall where the two Roses were welcomed to the chamber by the Mayor of Navan, Cllr Sinead Burke. Maria was then presented with a Tara brooch by Cllr Shane Cassells who thanked her for taking the time to visit Meath.

A launch of the Meath Rose competition took place afterwards in the Newgrange Hotel while the two women also had time to partake of some pint pulling duties in Beggy’s bar before returning to Dublin.