Cork Rose Niamh O’Hanlon

Posted on August 25, 2008

By Derek Kiely | Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

“It’s so Irish! It’s so unique! Everybody watches the Rose of Tralee, they may say they don’t, but they do”!
“If I get the chance in the dome, I will play the flute, something traditional with a classical twist”!

Niamh O'Hanlon-Cork Rose 2008

CORK’S Jewel in the crown Niamh O’Hanlon will try to win the coveted title of ‘Rose of Tralee’ in the 49th Annual International Rose of Tralee selection from the Festival Dome in Tralee
Originally from Blackrock in Cork City, Niamh who certainly looks the part, brimming with natural beauty and with a fantastic personality she will be one of the favourites come judgement night in the Dome.

Cork Rose Niamh O'Hanlon with her mother Deirdre

“I’ve always wanted to get involved and at 26 years of age it was my last chance to go for it, so I applied on line with an application form and had a one on one interview with all three Cork Rose judges, then a group interview and an on stage interview too. I was surprised that there would be so much involved, it was pretty thorough and I was impressed with the detail involved”.
Niamh went on to compete in the Cork Rose final which she won at the SAS Radisson Hotel in Little Island recently, much to the delight and surprise of her family and herself.
“I genuinely couldn’t believe it, all the other girls were so nice and so talented, I couldn’t believe that I could win, I was genuinely shocked and at the same time really thrilled”.
Niamh who went to school in Douglas at Eglantine NS, secondary school at Scoile Mhuire on Patrick’s Hill, then went on to do a degree in Commerce and German at UCC and completed her education at the Smurfit School of Business in Dublin where she did a Masters in Commerce, which led to her current job as a Commercial Lender with Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin.

Niamh O'Hanlon

“Everyone at work is really thrilled with my news and they are very supportive and I hope that over the next couple of years I will be able to move back to work in Cork. It has been great to be down with the family and spending time with them”.
There is now a lengthy application/information form that has to be filled in by all the ‘Roses’ so that the judges can really get to know a lot about each girl individually.
Niamh is very quick to brush away any derogatory comments about the contest “It’s a fantastic event, It’s so Irish, it’s so unique, everybody watches the Rose of Tralee, they may say they don’t, but they do! The girls who will be in Tralee will be intelligent, honest to goodness people, most of them with good careers or a in a very good education system, so in my opinion the competition is a brilliant event and because I have never been to the Rose of Tralee Festival before, I am looking forward to it even more. I always watch it every year and the atmosphere comes across great on the telly, so I can only imagine how brilliant it will be to be there as a part of this great traditional competition now in its 49th year”.
Niamh is the oldest in her family of four with three younger sisters, Jane (23) Ciara (21) and Rachel (16). Mammy Deirdre and Dad Roy were ecstatic when Niamh was announced as the 2008 Cork Rose “I have never seen my day excited before really, but at the Radisson he was so excited. They couldn’t believe it and they were so proud of me and I had their support right throughout the Cork competition and even if I didn’t win they didn’t care, they were just so proud of me for entering this and that meant so much to me”.
When I asked Niamh what her plans were for the coming week’s she said “Shopping, lots of shopping”!