The Rose of Tralee International Festival is currently in full swing in the Kingdom with many of those involved boasting strong farming backgrounds.
This year’s Roscommon Rose, Rachel Hastings, lives on a suckler beef and sheep farm in Ballyforan, Co. Roscommon with her parents, Monica and Claude, and her sister, Miriam.
“We’re all very heavily involved on our family farm, I have been from a young age. From the minute we could get out, we were out assisting with the lambing, any jobs that needed to be done,” Rachel told Agriland.
“It’s a great life for children to grow up with, you learn many skills. You gain a great knowledge when you’re a farmer. You have to think on your feet very quickly, and you have to be very adaptive to different situations.
“All of those skills can be across any job that you pursue in the future. I think it’s a fantastic way of life. Yes, there are challenges, but with every challenge, you learn,” she added.
The 27-year-old, who holds a postgraduate qualification in home economics and religious education, is a lecturer at St. Angela’s College in Co. Sligo which is part of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
She is also currently studying for a PhD in education for sustainable and responsible living.
“I’m pursuing both of my passions, because agriculture and home economics are very much so linked, the food does not just arrive on the table.
“I always give my students the background of where the food comes from and to think of the farmer, because at the end of the day, the farmer is the backbone of Irish society, and is the provider of all the food.
“They’re one of the most important people in our society,” she said.
Rachel and her sister run an Instagram page, ‘Keeping Up With The Hastings’, where they share their farming life on the Galway/Roscommon border.
Having attended the Rose of Tralee every year as a spectator, Rachel said that being on “the other side” of the festival has been “a most wonderful experience”.
“The memories, experiences, the friends right across the world have been absolutely fantastic, and the people I’ve met along the way have been so supportive,” she said.
Farming
Ashling Heneghan, the Sydney Rose, is originally from Westport in Co. Mayo where she grew up on the family sheep farm with her identical twin sister and two brothers.
“We’re mountain sheep [farmers], so I would have been climbing the mountains with my dad and out during the lambing season.
“We had some really, really busy times and lovely memories of bringing the little lambs home to bed in the evening, feeding them bottles, giving them little names and running around them in the fields,” she told Agriland.
Ashling said that she participated in athletics as a child, but added that she “probably worked harder on the farm”.
“A good dog is half the battle when you’re up in the mountains and on the hills, definitely. If we ever lost a dog, it was nearly like we lost our left arm in our family,” she said.
The 29-year-old currently works as a speech and language pathologist in Sydney where she is based in the community providing support to adults and children.
She has also completed her Green Cert with Mountbellew Agricultural College in Co. Galway.
Ashling said her experience of the Rose of Tralee has been “absolutely brilliant” so far and that she is “really proud” to represent the large Irish community in Sydney.
“At the moment, I’m focusing on building my career there and gaining experience and growing in that. Hopefully, one day, maybe I’ll return, but nobody knows what opportunities will come,” she said.
Rose of Tralee
Both Ashling and Rachel have been well matched with their respective Rose Escorts for the festival, as both are farmers.
Paul Tobin, who is paired with the Sydney Rose, is a dairy farmer from Co. Cork.
“We’re farming about 200ac down on the Cork-Waterford border. I’m milking just over 100 cows and I work off farm with Dairygold Food Ingredients, so it’s busy,” he said.
Paul is farming in partnership with his parents who are looking after the farm while he is taking part in the festival.
“I went to college with a few lads that did the escort role and I worked with a previous Rose as well and they couldn’t speak highly enough of the experience. From the time of applying and going through boot camp and interviews, everybody has just been so nice,” he said.
Tom Dowling, the Roscommon Rose Escort, milks cows in partnership with his father on their farm in Castlegregory in Co. Kerry, while also working for DLF Seeds.
“Like Paul, I love the farming, but I also like the job for the social aspect of it, traveling around the country and meeting people and getting out and about,” he said.
He said that the group of Rose Escorts, which includes others from farming backgrounds, have formed a strong bond over the past few months, with many “in constant contact”.
Tom said that the early starts on the farm have helped him keep up with the hectic festival schedule.
“Sometimes the early start could be 9:00a.m, that would be a lie-in for me. I’m well used to getting up early,” he said.
The festival, which began in 1959, continues over the coming days with plenty of events to keep both the Roses and Escorts busy.
The 32 women hoping to become the next Rose of Tralee will take to the stage at the Kerry Sports Academy at Munster Technological University (MTU) for the televised selection nights tomorrow (Monday, August 19) and Tuesday.