Rose of Tralee 2018 Kirsten Mate Maher with her parents Kwalo and Jacinta Maher on stage in the Festival Dome on August 21, 2018. Picture: Domnick Walsh \/ Eye Focus LTD<\/p>\n
As thousands of people converge on Kerry this weekend in a bid to catch a glimpse of contestants for the Rose of Tralee contest, former Roses will also arrive in the town to relive the memories of their year as contestants.<\/p>\n
Among them will be 2018 winner Kirsten Mate Maher, the first African-Irish winner of the contest, who has since gone on to a career in radio.<\/p>\n
Kirsten, who represented Waterford in the 2018 competition, will be there to meet up with some other former Rose winners, while official reunions for entrants in the 2016 and 1996 contests will also take place.<\/p>\n
The arrival of this year\u2019s 32 contestants in Tralee on Friday after a whirlwind tour of the country comes amid the perennial question of whether the Rose of Tralee competition remains relevant, and why it has remained so popular.<\/p>\n
An irked Kirsten cannot understand why the focus on the contest each year revolves around its relevancy.<\/p>\n
She questions: \u201cEvery year, I feel the same question is being asked and at some point, people have to ask what is bringing these women here every single year, what magic is everyone missing out on?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have their opinions on it, on whether it is dated, or this or that, but when you look at the calibre of women that are entering, they are all doing great things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"Leave them to it. If it improves where you go and improves your public speaking, your confidence within yourself, it can mean nothing only positives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
From her own perspective, she says being in the Rose of Tralee was an amazing experience, but she acknowledged: \u201cIt was tough \u2014 it is very hard to be put under public scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"Within the Rose of Tralee itself, it is a very safe and welcoming place, nearly like a bubble that you are in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"But it is when you step outside, the press are there, and with social media, it is getting harder and harder for people to put themselves forward for this kind of thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten acknowledges that the competition did amazing things for her because it opened doors to places and rooms that she never thought she could be in.<\/p>\n
"To get that confidence that yes, you do belong in the room, is great. People want to hear what you have to say \u2014 it can be really life-changing and I don\u2019t think I would ever have gone down the route I have gone down now in my line of work in radio and with my own show coming out on TG4, co-hosting with Allie Stack, had I not done the Rose of Tralee.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That show, Bia \u00dar, examines how Ireland\u2019s food culture is being reshaped by people from every corner of the world.<\/p>\n