Whirlwind year draws to a close for Rosemount’s Rose of Tralee

“It was probably the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life,” admits Rachel Duffy, who was catapulted into the glare of the national and international media spotlight overnight this time last year after being named as the 62nd Rose of Tralee.

The soft-spoken Rosemount women admits that she is now “more than ready” to relinquish the title that has consumed her life for the past 12 months and has presented her with opportunities that she “couldn't even dream of.”

Rachel will hand over her title to the new Rose of Tralee at the Rose Finals in Tralee on Tuesday night of next week, August 22, happy in the knowledge that she could not have given any more to the role than she did. “I have no regrets and I wouldn't have done anything differently,” she adds.

As someone who has been very candid about her struggles with anxiety as a teenager and young adult, Rachel Duffy has no difficulty admitting that she did find it difficult at the beginning to adjust to the huge changes wrought on her life as a result of her new role as International Rose of Tralee.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster, it was intense and it was emotional, but early on I had to have a chat with myself and basically I had two choices, I could either embrace the role or I could live the year in fear, so I chose to embrace all the new experiences that being the Rose of Tralee would present to me,” she says.

While she still suffers with bouts of anxiety, Rachel says she has learned to manage it “a lot better” and many of the things that would have made her anxious in the past, she just takes in her stride now. She feels that part of her anxiety stems from the fact that she lost her beloved mother, Cathy, when she was just nine years old, which was a defining moment in her young life.

“I would say I have completely changed as a person over the past year, and things that would have upset me and made me anxious a year ago wouldn't bother me in the slightest now,” she says, adding that the “solid support” of her Dad, Eamonn, along with family and close friends, as well as the support of the wider 'Rose family' was instrumental in keeping her grounded and focused over the past year.

“If I didn't make time for family and friends I don't think I could have performed to the best of my ability as the Rose of Tralee,” she says, “and if I were to give any advice to the incoming Rose, I would advise her to set the boundaries early on as it can become a bit overwhelming.”

While she has enjoyed a good relationship with the media during her reign, Rachel Duffy is acutely aware of the “all pervasive nature” of social media, and says it is a source of worry for everyone who is in the spotlight as you almost become public property.

“Social media makes everyone accessible at all times and some people almost feel as it they own you,” she says, “and I would have to admit there were times over the past year when I often wished that I could 'just be 24',” she readily admits.

That being said, Rachel Duffy is also acutely aware of the “huge honour” bestowed on her as the 2022 Rose of Tralee and says the experiences of the past year will stay with her “forever.” Among her most memorable experiences was an eight-day trip to one of the poorest places in the world, Kolkata in India, with the HOPE Foundation last October, which she regards as “the highlight” of her year.

“That trip could not have come at a better time because, after a really hectic couple of months in Ireland, nobody knew or cared who I was in Kolkata and I found it really peaceful” she recalls “most of the time I was wearing the HOPE t-shirt like everybody else and was just helping out in any way I could.”

Volunteering was always on Rachel's radar, but she neither had “the time or the means” to do it until she became Rose of Tralee, so she feels the India trip was an “immense privilege.”

She also got to travel and represent the international Rose organisation at this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York and one of the best aspects of the trip for her was getting to meet her fellow Roses from 2022. “We are all incredibly close and I have definitely made friends for life among many of the girls, some of us are so close that we have even got matching tattoos,” she laughs.

While being the international Rose is a huge honour it also involves “a lot of sacrifices” according to Rachel Duffy, although she never regarded these as being negatives. “It is just part and parcel of the job, it is a very, very busy year, and it is important to lay down the boundaries so that you can be the best version of yourself.”

Rachel doesn't think she could have presented the best version of herself over the past year unless she took “time out” to spend with family and friends whenever she could. “People want to see a Rose of Tralee who is smiling and is generous with their time and their talents, and it is important to remember that, while it might just be another engagement for the Rose, it could be the one and only encounter that a member of the public might ever have with a Rose of Tralee, and that is a big responsibility for the reigning Rose, and one that I took very seriously,” she says.

To say that becoming the 62nd International Rose of Tralee never crossed her mind would be an understatement for Rachel Duffy. “I was only laughing with my family and cousins at the Fleadh in Mullingar last week that not one of them had even bothered to put a bet on that I might win,” she recalls, “to be honest I don't think it every actually crossed any of our minds.”

She says the girl who is lucky enough to be selected as the Rose of Tralee will have been picked by the judges “for a number of reasons” and even a year later she still finds it hard to comprehend how she was picked. “I don't think anything can ever prepare you for that moment when your name is called out,” she says, “and I do feel myself that it will be only when my reign comes to an end that I will be able to fully process the whirlwind of the last year."

So what next for the 2022 Rose of Tralee? “To be honest, I haven't a clue, but I am going to just take some down time from next month to Christmas to process the last year from a psychological perspective and also get a bit of rest,” she admits.

Having been someone whom she would describe as being “a worrier and a people pleaser” in her past life, Rachel Duffy says she's hoping to return to college but she is acutely aware that she needs to press the pause button and says she is not going to put any pressure on herself in the short term. “I just need to process everything in my own time, because it would be so easy to get sucked into the whole thing of moving on to the next big project.”

Regardless of what she does next, the 2022 Rose of Tralee will always carry the distinction of having represented Rosemount, Westmeath and Ireland with distinction on the world stage.