Molly Fogarty has always been proud of her Irish roots.
She’ll tell you that she was the kid who was decked out in green on St. Patrick’s Day. Her paternal grandparents, who immigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1957, worked in the Irish Club of Regina. And she frequently listened to Irish folk songs, to the chagrin of her friends.
Fogarty, who hails from North Portal, was selected as the Rose of Tralee for Western Canada last month at a competition in Edmonton, and will travel to Ireland for the famed Rose of Tralee International Festival in August.
“The heart of the festival is the selection of the Rose of Tralee, which brings young women of Irish … descent from around the world to the town of Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland, for a global celebration of Irish culture,” Fogarty said in an interview with Lifestyles.
The festival is named after a popular Irish song of the same name, and the woman selected as the Rose of Tralee embodies the traits of attractiveness, kindness and “truth in her eyes” described in the song.
Fogarty is the first Rose for Western Canada from Saskatchewan.
She first heard of the Rose of Tralee contest three years ago during her first visit to Ireland. A cousin urged her to enter, but Fogarty was too young at the time.
“I was watching it from my hotel room in Dublin the first time I went to Ireland, and I thought it was really cool,” said Fogarty.
She returned to Ireland last summer, and went to the Rose of Tralee festival. Fogarty was wowed by the experience.
“I saw all the Roses, and how they were treated like celebrities, and how everybody has the best time,” said Fogarty.
When she returned to Saskatchewan, Fogarty submitted an online application, and was notified she had been selected for the Western Canadian finals in Edmonton. There were four other finalists; all were from Alberta.
“When you went to Edmonton for the finals, you sat in a room with three judges, and had a private interview,” said Fogarty. “And then they would judge all of the Roses that applied just on that interview, and then they picked the winner.”
The judges wanted to learn more about her Irish heritage, her grandparents’ roots and her family members still in Ireland. They also asked her about her goals in life, the significance of the Rose of Tralee for her, and her ability to travel for a year should she be selected as the international festival’s Rose.
Fogarty was crowned the winner at a gala supper, where there was dance, music and interviews with the finalists. After her victory, each finalist showcased a talent.
“I tried singing,” said Fogarty. “I was really choked up, but I had written a song for my grandparents and their journey to Canada when they immigrated here. I got up and I sang that, and by the end of every line, I was in tears. I looked out, and I had a couple people in tears, too.”
Fogarty will travel to Ireland from Aug. 9 to 28. There will be an opportunity to sightsee, and visit with extended family members who still reside in Ireland. But her focus will be on the festival, which runs from Aug. 17 to 23. Her commitments begin on Aug. 12.
“My family is going, but I have been told that I probably won’t get to see them, between being on TV and going to all of the events,” said Fogarty. “We have balls and galas we have to go to, and there is so much going on.”
She has been told she will need one good picture of herself, because it will be plastered on buses, and in pubs and magazines in Ireland. There will be tours, autograph signings and more.
“I know last year the Roses went sky diving, and we just have so many opportunities to do things that are so out of the ordinary,” said Fogarty.
Each Rose also has a bodyguard for the competition.
“We’re also paired up with these little girls, who are age six to 10, and they’re called Rosebuds,” said Fogarty. “You’re supposed to bring over a nice Canadian gift for them, because it’s their dream to be a Rose one day.”
While she is in Tralee, hidden judges will monitor how she interacts with the public and embodies the traits of the Rose.
“The Rose from last year told me to just be nice to everybody, because a judge could be your waitress, and you wouldn’t even know it,” said Fogarty. “They’re always judging.”
If she is selected as the festival’s Rose, then Fogarty will spend the next year travelling. Even she if isn’t selected, Fogarty will still be busy, as she has to visit Irish clubs across Western Canada.
Her travel and accommodations to the festival will be covered, but she will have to purchase new clothes, including gowns. Fogarty and the other Roses from around the world also have to have gifts for different people they encounter.
The festival will be more than just the selection of the Rose. There will be Irish entertainment, carnivals, concerts, theatre, circuses, markets and fireworks. The Rose candidates will participate in three parades.
More than 200,000 people attend the event each year, and more than 1.7 million people will watch the spectacle on television.
Fogarty has done a lot of research into her Irish roots. Her grandfather came from Roscrea in County Tipperary, while her grandmother was from Kantoher in County Limerick. Both had moved to London, and met at an Irish dance club.
“After a year or so, they decided to get married, so they went back to Ireland for one day, and they got married at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and they left for Canada at about 10 o’clock that night,” Fogarty said.
They wouldn’t return to Ireland for more than 20 years.
Fogarty travelled to Ireland three years ago and met members of her extended family for the first time. She is proud of her grandparents and her connections to Ireland, and always feels at home whenever she is in Ireland.
