The 2011 Monaghan Rose of Tralee Selection night was held on Easter Saturday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan Town. The fifteen entrants had a jam packed day of interviews and rehearsals followed by dinner.

The judging process to choose the winning rose includes an individual interview, group interview, stage interview and a type of continuous assessment while the roses were accompanied by the judges on their county tour and also at the dog races at Dundalk stadium. The people who were responsible for the task of judging were Lisa McClelland Armagh Rose 2009, Ciara Mc Glone Tyrone Rose 2009 and Gordon Weldon International Escort 2007, all three judges has a first-hand experience of each stage of the Rose Festival and were delighted to share their experiences with the Monaghan roses.

The MC for the night was Keith Walsh from the radio station i105- 107, this was Keith’s first selection night and it won’t be his last, he helped put the roses at ease and brought out their personalities and enhanced their stage performances. Each Rose brought a huge crowd of family and friends to support her and they arrived with homemade banners of all types and sizes, the winning banner was for Brenda Flynn at Master Deerys handmade by Laura Hannon, Laura was presented with a perfume set from Connolly’s chemist.

The fundraising manager of Cystic Fibrosis Association Ireland Martin Cahill was in attendance and a cheque of €2600 was presented to him on behalf of the roses by Noelle Clerkin the 2010 Monaghan Rose and the 2011 Colouring competition Rose Buds. The money was raised from a variety of events held by the roses over the past month.

It wasn’t all about the roses on the night as the escorts took to the stage, they were judged on their mannerisms as gentlemen and how they treated the roses throughout the process. The winning Escort was Sean Woods from Newbliss and he was presented by Eoin Treanor the outgoing escort, with Newbridge Cufflinks and a weekend stay at a Carlton Hotel.

Finally the big moment came as a drum roll filled up the room and the County Monaghan 2011 Rose of Tralee was announced as Caoimhe Daly of Truagh, sponsored by the Westenra Arms Hotel. Caoimhe was shocked and surprised as her family roared and cheered her success. Caoimhe was then presented with Newbridge Jewellery from Magill Jewellers, A prepaid debit card from Monaghan Life.ie and a personalised bathrobe set from Miriam’s embroidery along with a weekend break including spa treatments by the Carlton Hotel group. Keith Walsh then asked a few words from Caoimhe but she was speechless, she thanked her family, friends and sponsors and wished her cousin Rebecca a happy birthday.

Caoimhe is 24 and a daughter of Eamonn and Leon Daly, she is currently a final year medical student at NUIG. Over the next month Caoimhe will be attending many events, such as the May Day Parade in Castleblayney, the official opening of the Inniskeen GAA grounds and the launch Monaghan life.ie pre-paid debit card among many of our neighbouring county selection nights.

Caoimhe will represent Monaghan at the Irish Regional Finals in Portlaoise on Saturday the 4^th of June. There will be 29 Roses from the Irish Counties at the finals and over 20 roses from the United States and Britain taking part in their own regional finals. Caoimhe will be on stage alongside the Philidelphia and Chicago roses just a taster of the exciting year which lies ahead of her. Should she be successful Caoimhe would then represent Monaghan at the International Rose of Tralee Festival on a 10 day tour of Ireland followed by the TV selection nights at the Dome in Tralee this August. If you would like to attend the festival or regional finals contact monaghanrose@gmail.com for more information.