Darcy Taylor misses out on being crowned Rose of Tralee

She was the bookies 3-1 odds-on favourite to win Rose of Tralee but Darcy Taylor missed out on winning the coveted crown.

The Derry Rose, a 25-year-old from the village of Bellaghy in Co Derry and a content producer for BBC Radio Foyle, was impressively articulate as she spoke about being part of the post-Good Friday Agreement generation from Northern Ireland.

And she also spoke of her pride in Derry now being on tourist attraction lists.

Before a beautiful rendition of How Long Will I Love You by The Waterboys, Darcy’s gorgeous grandmother Josie made an appearance to meet her dream man, Dáithí Ó Sé, host of the 64th Rose of Tralee held at the Kerry Sports Academy.

The 2024 International Rose of Tralee title went to New Zealand Rose Keely O’Grady.

The 21-year-old Speech and Language Therapy student at Canterbury University said she “can’t really put it into words” what it means to have won the title.

“I’m shaking so much right now,” she told co-host Kathryn Thomas last night as she donned her sash.

“What I’m most looking forward to is doing this for my country. As someone from New Zealand, we’ve only had two New Zealand Roses, the last time was in 1988, so it does really mean a lot to me.”

Donegal Rose Niamh Shevlin kicked off the proceedings on Tuesday night.

The accomplished Irish dancer toured with Lord of the Dance for five years, where she performed alongside her twin brother Gavin.

After dispensing with the long skirt of her red ballgown, she got the crowd going with a foot-stomping Irish dance to The Hills of Donegal.

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