Thirty-two international Rose of Tralee contestants are making a whistle stop tour of County Kildare over two days, Sunday 11th and Monday the 12th of August. The visit features an action-packed, schedule which includes cultural, historical, culinary, and sporting activities and has been arranged and sponsored by Into Kildare, the Tourism body for County Kildare. Kildare Rose, Catherine Cunningham was proud to showcase her home county which featured lots of interesting and immersive experiences on the itinerary.
The Roses made their first stop off at Barberstown Castle in Straffan yesterday (Sunday 11th), where they were officially welcomed by the hotel’s General Manager, Ted Robinson and Áine Mangan, CEO of Into Kildare. The ladies were presented with Newbridge Silverware, St. Brigid’s lapel pins to celebrate their visit to the county. Next, the contestants made their way to the nearby K Club where they enjoyed a ‘cook off’ with The K Club’s Executive Chef, Gary O’Hanlon. The K Club are one of the participating hotels and restaurants in this year’s Taste of Kildare Food Festival and the cooking activation provided just a little taste of things to come at this year’s event which takes place from the 20-22nd of September at Naas Racecourse.
Later in the afternoon the Roses visited Kildare Parish Church where they saw the holy relics of Saint Brigid which are now on permanent display at the church. The sacred relics of the patron saint of Kildare returned to the county after nearly a millennium in early 2024 and have been visited by thousands of people since they officially went on display. Brigideen nun, Rita Minehan of Solas Bhride and David Mongey, the Chairman of Into Kildare gave a brief talk about the life of the saint and her relevance in today’s world. The Roses made their way from the Parish Church to the Square in Kildare Town where local school children presented them with traditional Saint Brigid’s crosses made from rushes. An artistic activation was next on the schedule where the colours of Saint Brigid’s famous cloak were brought to life in an art class by local artists from Tribe Art Studio where Irish Dancers from Croi Academy of Irish Dance also performed.
A stop off at the Silken Thomas in Kildare Town was next on the schedule where the Roses enjoyed traditional music and Guinness cake. Under the expert guidance of Brian Flanagan, Silken Thomas Director, they even got the chance to pour their own pint of the black stuff!
This morning, after a hearty breakfast and restful night’s sleep at Barberstown Castle, the girls headed off to Carton House, a Fairmont Managed Hotel for a golf clinic with Director of Golf, Liam McCool. They were also treated to a delectable afternoon tea in the sun hosted by Martin Mangan, General Manager and Triona Flood, Commercial Director who were warm and welcoming hosts. The luxury hotel and golf resort outside Maynooth will host the esteemed KPMG Women’s Irish Open from 29 August – 1st September 2024 and promises to draw huge crowds to the region.
The fun didn’t stop there, after the action on the golf course, the Roses were brought to the home of Irish Motor Racing, Mondello Park where they learnt how to drive ‘hot laps’ in BMW M2s. A virtual driving experience, ‘driving’ at full speed in the Driving Experience Simulator allowed the contestants to view the track through the eyes of a professional racing car driver. The action-packed itinerary concludes this evening with a glamourous Rose Ball at Barberstown Castle Hotel.
Into Kildare CEO, Aine Mangan said, “It is great to have the Roses with us here in Kildare. Their visit and the international media attention that goes with the International Rose of Tralee Festival is extremely important for tourism for County Kildare. This county has much to offer visitors from historical castles and houses to sustainable food and luxurious accommodation. There is a lot to see and do here and we are very grateful to the organisers of the Rose of Tralee Festival for including Kildare in the Rose’s schedule. Thanks too to the girls themselves who were great fun and really got stuck into all the activities. It just leaves us to say the very best of luck to all the contestants and we hope to welcome you and your families to Kildare again. Best of luck too, to our very own Rose of Kildare, Catherine Cunnigham who hails from my own hometown, Rathangan.”
The International Rose of Tralee festival takes place this year in Tralee, Co. Kerry (Ireland) from the 16-20th of September. For more information see www.roseoftralee.ie To find out more about great places to visit and things to do in Kildare see www.intokildare.ie
