THE NEW ROSE of Tralee, Elysha Brennan, managed to have a chat with Morning Ireland this morning after getting just two hours of sleep from celebrating her win last night.
The 22-year-old is a second year medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons and beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in recent years.
She was the first Meath Rose to ever make the televised show, speaking about the excitement after being crowned last night, Brennan said:
“I had a few minutes just to gather myself and then straight into a car, straight onto a float and through the streets of Tralee onto the stage where Daniel O’Donnell serenaded me.
“It was a hugely emotional experience, I met my family there, my friends were in the crowd as well. There was fireworks and everything, it was spectacular.”
Speaking after winning the title last night, the 22-year-old said, “I have never been surrounded by such inspirational, moving, strong, driven, focused, ambitious, wonderful, spectacular, young ladies… I am in such good company, I thank you so much and I hope to do the Rose of Tralee proud.
I have the biggest shoes I’ve ever known to fill after Maria Walsh.
The new Rose of Tralee told Morning Ireland that she’s off to the races with some Roses today but will relax tonight:
“We’re having a wind down tonight…we’ve been on the road since Sunday last week so we’re all in need of some relaxation.”
Asked if she’d take a break from her studies at the Royal College of Surgeons for the next year, Brennan said:
“I didn’t really allow myself to think that far ahead so I don’t have a plan in place right now…I suppose I don’t think the two worlds for this year could marry together.
“Coming up to exam season I’m doing 8am – 8pm study days and I want to honour this year and I want to do it justice, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m not coming back this way again ever.”
The Meath woman also mentioned that she was happy to give her county something to celebrate this summer:
We had such a bad year on the football front so I suppose we did okay in the Rose of Tralee.
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