Meet this year's local contestants vying to become the 2026 Tipperary Rose

Saoirse is a proud single mam from the small village of New Inn, and is a drama teacher at Dwan Academy in Thurles. Saoirse’s love of drama grew during her days in secondary school where she was involved in many school productions as well as musical and drama societies in South Tipperary. Saoirse has a BA Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama Studies from MTU Cork School of Music and is hoping to pursue a PME in Primary Education.

Saoirse says she is very excited to be taking part in the selection process for the Tipperary Rose and to have her daughter Doireann take part in the journey with her. — Saoirse is a proud single mam from the small village of New Inn, and is a drama teacher at Dwan Academy in Thurles. Saoirse’s love of drama grew during her days in secondary school where she was involved in many school productions as well as musical and drama societies in South Tipperary. Saoirse has a BA Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama Studies from MTU Cork School of Music and is hoping to pursue a PME in Primary Education. Saoirse says she is very excited to be taking part in the selection process for the Tipperary Rose and to have her daughter Doireann take part in the journey with her. | Saoirse Murphy

placeholder image — Saoirse is a proud single mam from the small village of New Inn, and is a drama teacher at Dwan Academy in Thurles. Saoirse’s love of drama grew during her days in secondary school where she was involved in many school productions as well as musical and drama societies in South Tipperary. Saoirse has a BA Honours Degree in Theatre and Drama Studies from MTU Cork School of Music and is hoping to pursue a PME in Primary Education. Saoirse says she is very excited to be taking part in the selection process for the Tipperary Rose and to have her daughter Doireann take part in the journey with her. | Saoirse Murphy

23 contestants will be vying for the crown to represent the county in Tralee

The countdown is on to Sunday May 31 when the 2026 Tipperary Rose will be selected at the Talbot Hotel in Clonmel.

23 hopefuls will compete against each other, with just one of them moving on to represent the county at the 2026 Rose of Tralee International Festival, which is set to take place in Tralee, county Kerry from Thursday August 14 - 18, 2026.

In this week’s edition, we have profiled the first 12 of this year’s Tipperary Rose selection contenders, in next week’s edition we will showcase the remaining 11 before the big day in Clonmel.

This year’s Tipperary’s selection sees a broad range of competitors from all over the county with potential Roses coming from as far north as Terryglass to as far south as Newcastle and Ballyporeen.

Supporting our 23 competitors are a fantastic array of sponsors including Clonmel Greyhound Stadium, ArraTipp and even The2Johnnies as some of the more prominent names backing the ladies this year.

Speaking at the launch of the search for the next Tipperary Rose in Clonmel, current Tipperary Rose Tara Brady commented:

“I have made the most exciting memories and met the loveliest people who I thankfully will have in my life forever from all parts of the world - my Rose Family. I would like to thank everyone that supported me across the county of Tipperary. Being a representative of Tipperary was one of the proudest moments in my life, and one that I will cherish forever.”

Tara, who is from Ballina in the north of the county, was a favourite to win the 2024 competition and though she put on a magnificent display during the competition, unfortunately lost out in the end.

Despite not winning the overall competition, Tara has been able to enjoy two year’s with the title of Tipperary Rose due to the biennial selection process of the competition that means most regional and international Rose Centres only send a representative to Tralee every second year.

The current Rose of Tralee is 2025 winner Katelyn Cummins from Laois with the last winner from Tipperary being Portroe’s Aoife Kelly. Aoife is the only Tipperary representative to ever win the Rose of Tralee competition with Dublin holding the record for the most Rose of Tralee winners at five wins.

The Rose of Tralee celebrates 67 years in 2026 and is one of the longest running festivals in the country, connecting Irish communities and diaspora from all around the world.