THE Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Arthur Spring, has bestowed the highest honour possible, at a local level, to the team that has organised the Rose of Tralee International Festival since 2004.

A Civic Reception organised by Tralee Town Council and the Mayor was held in honour of the current Festival management team and the local civic authorities including the Garda, Civil Defence, Red Cross and Festival of Kerry Support Group.

The Managing Director of the Rose of Tralee, Anthony O’Gara has said: “We are committed to bringing more visitors to Tralee during the Festival in August, and we will continue to move forward with new ideas and initiatives that will help us realise this goal. Everyone on the team recognises and appreciates the goodwill of the people of Tralee as well the relevant local authorities, tourism bodies and our local and national sponsors. In doing this, we are mindful that we are carrying forward the torch that was lit by our predecessors in 1959 when the Festival began.”

Cllr Spring said: “There is no Festival in Ireland, or anywhere else in the world where the participants, in this case the Roses, become International Ambassadors. Tralee owes Anthony O’Gara, and his colleagues, a huge amount gratitude for taking the Rose of Tralee International Festival to a new level since saving it from financial ruin in 2004. For much of its 52 years history, we the people of Tralee became complacent in our attitude towards the Festival, but it is the people of Tralee who have helped the Festival to turn the corner.”

The Mayor said that the feel good factor has returned in recent years and it’s essential that everyone works hard as a united community to help any new plans to grow the Festival to become a reality.

The search to find the next Rose of Tralee is due to get underway in earnest in the New Year as regional Rose Selections begin around Ireland in many of the 74 Rose Centres in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Britain, New Zealand and Dubai. Full details and application forms are available from www.roseoftralee.ie.

The next Rose of Tralee International Festival will take place from Friday 19^th to the 23^rd August 2011.

Ends

Issued by John Drummey Communications on behalf of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, for interview & image requests please contact John Drummey on 087-7909487 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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