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COMMENT: Appalling treatment of Limerick Roses leaves bad taste in the mouth
FOR the third year in a row, Limerick will have no Rose at the International Final in Tralee. This is unacceptable and something has to be done to address the treatment of our Roses.
Limerickhas a proud tradition when it comes to the Rose of Tralee Festival and for 50 years Limerick people have embraced it with enormous enthusiasm. We have produced two winners in that time, but perhaps more importantly we have been proud of all the Limerick Roses taking part.
As the Festival became a huge television hit, we rooted for "our" girl on the big night. Last weekend, however, we learned that for the third year in a row, our Limerick Rose would not be represented in the International Final in Tralee.
This year's Rose is 24-year-old Brid Richardson, from Ahane. Brid was chosen from an excellent Limerick final and local organisers described her as "an exceptional Rose".
We have no doubt that she is. Brid is a fluent Irish speaker, which many felt would be a plus for her when she came face to the new Festival host, Daithi O Se. Alas, though, that is not going to happen and all of us in Limerick will share Brid's disappointment, and that of the hard-working Limerick Rose committee led by the energetic and utterly dedicated Martina Murphy. Brid is our 50th Rose, a landmark that deserved recognition where it ultimately matters most: in Tralee.
There is something seriously wrong somewhere when the Limerick public find themselves without a Rose to cheer for yet again. Just nine Roses representing counties in Ireland will be at the Final; the others will come from a wide range of international locations.
Only three counties are guaranteed a place in Tralee: Kerry, Cork and Dublin. The rest must compete in the Regional Final established five years ago by the limited company that runs the Rose of Tralee Festival. We must presume that Cork and Dublin are included ultimately for commercial reasons, because of the size of their respective populations and the impact their absence might have on television figures.
Martina Murphy and her team can do no more. Sadly, they find themselves with another disappointment to get over. We hope they can muster the same enthusiasm they have shown for so many years and produce another wonderful Limerick Rose next year. And we hope that the Festival organisers recognise that Limerick has given far too much to their event for our proud county to be overlooked yet again.
WHAT'S YOUR VIEW ON LIMERICK MISSING OUT AGAIN ON THE ROSE OF TRALEE FINAL? EMAIL US AT LETTERS@LIMERICKLEADER.IE AND WE WILL PUBLISH THE BEST COMMENTS IN THE LEADER NEXT WEEK. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR FULL CONTACT DETAILS FOR VERIFICATION
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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