Cavan to have a biennial Rose in Tralee

The Cavan Rose will only be held every other year as organisers revamp the selection process. From 2019, each Centre will select a Rose biennially, such that 32 Roses will be hosted in Tralee annually. The reorganising means that the Breffni County will not crown a Cavan Rose in 2019. However, every Cavan Rose will now be guaranteed a televised interview. The next Cavan Rose selection event will take place in 2020 with subsequent selections taking place every second year thereafter. Roses representing Kerry, Cork and Dublin will continue to be selected every year. The Executive Chair of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, Anthony O’Gara, said: “Moving from the Regional Festival (staged from 2004 to 2015) to bringing all our Roses directly to the Rose of Tralee International Festival for the past three years has been generally very positively received. There is one challenging aspect to the new format that does not sit well with any of us and that we want to address, the selection of 32 Roses from 66 for the TV Selection. Regardless of how sensitively we handle that, it is not in-keeping with our ethos or our tradition. Our focus is to celebrate and respect the passion and emotion, and indeed the time and financial investment that every Rose, her family and Centre invest with us.” The Rose of Tralee family has grown extensively since 2004 with 40 new Centres and a rejuvenated brand. “Our remit is to deliver a Festival that respects commitment and participation appropriately and that of each Rose. Even though the new structure will reduce income, we will find a means of overcoming this financial challenge for the International Festival. We appreciate that the change to the format is significant, but on balance we believe it will be a positive development that will enhance our Festival and protect its long-term future,” Anthony said. The search for the 2019 Rose of Tralee has begun with entries already being submitted via www.roseoftralee.ie/apply. The Rose of Tralee International Festival will celebrate 60 Years from Friday 16th to Tuesday 20th August 2019.