Múinteoir Abby Walsh shares her 'incredible' Rose of Tralee experience
Waterford Rose, Abby Walsh, on stage with Dáithí Ó Sé at this year's Rose of Tralee. Photo: Domnick Walsh Photography Eye Focus Ltd
As we return back to our normal routines and enter into a new academic year involving perfectly pleated uniforms, packed lunches and school runs, Múinteoir Abby will be kept on her toes by her young pupils as she dives straight in to the classroom from the pinnacle of her summer, where she represented the white and blue in the Rose of Tralee Festival last week.
Having been successful in the Waterford Rose selection process back in April, the extremely talented Gaelgeoir, who is bursting with craic agus ceol, Abby Walsh has had a jam-packed summer where she became a delegate for Waterford and did her county proud.
Although New Zealand Rose, Keely O'Grady, was the overall winner of the 32 competitors, Abby told the Waterford News & Star in a post-festival interview that during the festival it didn't feel like a competition: "You get to know the girls so well that we were so happy for Keeley, our New Zealand Rose."
"It could have been any one of us, but we were so delighted for her because all week she was just incredible and she was everyone's friend and such a bubbly person too," added Abby.
Speaking about the commitment and preparations in the lead-up to the festival in Tralee, Abby explained that she didn't feel much pressure as she was given great advice from a former Rose of Tralee winner and Waterford native, Kirsten Mate Maher. "'Just be yourself' is what Kirsten told me. 'That's all you can be.' So I did," said Abby.
"I was so happy. I was proud of myself, for being myself," she added.
"I wasn't trying to be anyone different and I didn't feel any pressure from the previous roses," said Abby, given the previous Roses' success while representing Waterford. Abby also said that having the build-up to the festival begin as early as April gave her the time to enjoy the events that were scheduled, the time to make new friends and plan for the big night in front of thousands across the nation well in advance.
"For me, the best thing that came from it was definitely the friendships," said Abby, while describing how she benefited from her Rose of Tralee experience.
"When you watch the festival year after year, you always hear 'oh, you make 32 sisters and friends', but after being in it all I can say is, the girls are incredible. And so, definitely for me, the highlight was making friends," she said, adding that her new friendships have opened up doors across the world for her: "Because of this, now I'll get to go to New Zealand. I'll get to go to San Francisco, you know, and there's always someone there that I'll know."
"Then, I suppose, on a personal level, now I know that I can push myself, and I'm not afraid to go out there and do something a little bit different while being by yourself, and make the new friends and that gets harder as you get older, because you have your routine, you go to work, it's very hard to come outside the box and make new friends. It was lovely to know that I can do that with both male and female friends," Abby said.
On the first night of the Rose of Tralee Festival when Abby took to the stage, she said once she saw the extremely supportive members of her family and friends who were in the audience with their banners, the nerves disappeared. In addition, she said that because such strong friendships were built among the Roses, it was fantastic to see everyone else's support there too.
When chatting to Dáithí Ó Sé on stage, Abby used some of our native language, as she's also very proud to be a múinteoir, along with her hobbies that take her around the county and across the country.
"Abby Walsh is ainm dom," she began.
"I am 22 years old and thrilled to be representing the oldest city in Ireland - Waterford. I am blessed to be working in my dream job, Múinteoir Bunscoile in a Gaelscoil (Primary School Teacher in an Irish-speaking school).
"I have an enormous grá for the Irish language, music, and culture. If I am not travelling the four corners of Ireland for dancing competitions, I enjoy catching up with friends, and visiting our local beaches and Greenway," Abby said.
On a more personal note, Abby mentioned some of her daily habits: "I am a gifted talker, napper and grazer eater. I am secretly amazing at building in Minecraft! I love to laugh, and think that a sense of humour is an essential trait as a Múinteoir," she continued, "I have been spreading my passions for the Irish language and dance for the past few years, encouraging everyone to try and say cúpla focal gach lá and inspiring Irish dancers to stay active and participate.
"I am excited to make new life-long friendships, and meet inspirational brave women, with big dreams while on my Rose journey."
"My life value is Victory does not always mean winning. Victory means rising after every fall," she concluded.
When asked if the support from Waterford was strong, the primary school teacher said that initially there was a media blackout, where the Roses were advised not to read through social media. Abby said that once the blackout was lifted and she read through what the online Waterford community was saying, she was so very grateful for all the kind words and also relieved to have done the Déise proud.
As Múinteoir Abby welcomes back her pupils and gets back to the reality of routine, she said the Rose of Tralee Festival is something that will always be a fond memory and she'd encourage anyone who can to apply to do so.
"I'll be pushing anyone that I know to apply. Just fill in the application. Come and meet the team and meet myself and you'll know straight away whether it's something you'll want to do.
"It's such a warming, welcoming kind of environment you're in, everyone's going to make friends, and everyone is truly so nice. So I would say, just go for it, bite the bullet and see how you get on."
The only downside to the Rose of Tralee Festival, according to Múinteoir Abby, is that because she's already carried out her duty to represent Waterford and as per competition rules, she unfortunately won't be able to contest the next bout of the Waterford Rose selection in 2026.
