A Rose's duty

This is Mairead Conley, 2010 Rose for Philadelphia/Mid-Atlantic.

The pic is from the http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishphiladelphia/ account of Irish Philadelphia society. Go there for some more information about Mairead.

Slide Show of Mid-Atlantic Night

By way of irishphiladelpha - a great slide show of the Mid-Atlantic selection night. Above is Mairead Conley, 2010 Mid-Atlantic Rose with Jim Donovan, MC for the night.

Click this link for their slide show.

Bring 2 sashes into the shower?

Some news from the irishphiladelphia site. Mairead Conley has two sashes - 2010 Mid-Atlantic Rose and 2010 Philadelphia Rose.

From the article "I feel dumbfounded. You never expect to win," said the self-described introvert and deputy director of community programming at the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia, following her local triumph Saturday night at the Philadelphia Irish Center. "I was completely blown away."

Will Mairead have three sashes by the end of August?

Philadelphia is Mid-Atlantic

As always, the irishphiladelphia website brings us comprehensive news about matters stateside. The current 2010 Philadelphia Rose has become the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Rose - her name is Mairead Conley.

They carry a full profile of Mairead - I'm sure it is easier to become a Supreme Court Judge. You can find out all about Mairead - her ambitions, aspirations, intellect, social responsibility and Irish heritage.

We will just lift one piece - about Mairead's Irish heritage; "The Conleys are from Ballina in County Mayo. They emigrated to Canada, and were in Newfoundland before coming down into the U.S., into Indiana and Chicago. My mom’s family is from Strabane, County Tyrone, and from Abbeyfeale, County Limerick. We just visited some family there last summer. And it’s really funny because I was actually in Tralee last year, too. I saw the rose gardens and we saw a show at the National Folk Theatre. It never entered my mind that I’d be going back, let alone as a Rose".

More, much more, at http://irishphiladelphia.com/maireadconley .

Mid-Atlantic News

On Saturday 26th June, the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Rose will be chosen. Where? At the Philadelphia Irish Centre of course. And of course the ladies at the centre of things are the Conaghan sisters Karen and Sarah. In the picture above Karen is far left and Sarah far right.

Did you know that it is planned to have 250 rose centres in America covering nine regions? You didn't? Go to the Irishphiladelphia site to read; 'Anthony O'Gara, managing director of the festival, says the United States is about to gain many, many new Rose of Tralee Centres--groups of people responsible for running their own local and regional festivals."Our ambition is to build 250 centres in America in nine regions," says O'Gara. "Sarah Conaghan and her sister Karen Conaghan Race have spearheaded the movement here in the United States. This [instead of running just one local festival], they'll be running a regional festival pulling in six centres" '.

The article continues ' O'Gara acknowledges that there are many Rose of Tralee Centers in the States already--but they're scattered. "There are pockets of Irish in cities and regions all over the united States," he notes. "If you just have one centre for every state, you're only reaching a tiny portion of the Irish and irish-Americans living in that state," he says '.

Now you know!