Maria Walsh, the 2014 International Rose
The crowd at Maggie O’Neill’s Restaurant in Drexel Hill on Tuesday were sitting on the edge of their seats as they heard Daithi O’Se, host of the International Rose of Tralee Show on Rte1, intone, “Ladies and gentleman, the 2014 International Rose of Tralee. . . “ which was followed by the world’s longest drum roll. It seemed to go on for minutes.
But when he finally finished his sentence with the word, “Philadelphia,” the crowd erupted in screams and applause. You almost couldn’t hear him say her name: Maria Walsh. (See video below.)
The 27-year-old Philadelphia transplant whose short hair, neck tattoos, and confident demeanor (and probably her Irish accent) were a delight to the Irish press, appeared as surprised as she did when she was chosen to represent Philadelphia in April at a gala event at the Radnor Hotel. She’s been blowing up Twitter and on the front page of every newspaper in Ireland for days, particularly in Mayo, where the Boston native grew up from the age of seven.
“I am so happy that there’s a video of that moment at Maggie O’Neill’s because it’s such a blur,” said Karen Conaghan Race who, with her sister, Sarah Conaghan, founded the Philadelphia Rose Center 12 years ago. “We had a really full house and it was a Tuesday afternoon. I like that everyone was there and not at work!”
That fact reflects “the strong base of support in this community that a lot of other centers don’t have,” said Race. “The Irish community in Philadelphia is unbelievable. This wouldn’t be possible without it.”
Race said she’d been monitoring the Internet and “I’ve never seen such an overwhelmingly positive to an international Rose, ever. Usually you’ll see comments like, ‘it should have been this person,’ but when they announced her win in the International Rose of Tralee site it got 13,000 likes and hundreds and hundreds of comments that are positive, which on the Internet is a rare thing.”
She attributes that to Walsh herself. “Who she is on stage is who she is. She’s a comfortable, natural person, so effortless. She doesn’t have to put any of it on. She has a special way about her—people take to her instantly.”
For example, Walsh told the crowd at The Dome in Tralee that after returning to the US several years ago after graduating with a degree in journalism and visual media from Griffith College in Dublin, she lived in New York, then traveled south to Philadelphia for the job at Anthropologie. “She said she was glad she moved to Philadelphia, where she’s lived for three years,” said Race. “New York is intense and didn’t provide her with the life-work balance she wanted. She said Philadelphia is a great city for young people who want a career and a life.”
Check out a video interview she did with The Independent.
She also told the story behind the three ladybug tattoos she has behind her ear—they were a favorite of her cousin, Teresa Malloy, who died in a car crash at the age of 19 in November 2009. “It’s moments like this, like being in the Rose of Tralee, that make you really seize the day and appreciate life and take everything as it comes,” Walsh said. “She has given me a lot of good luck to date, so I know she’s looking down on me and my family.”
She also talked about being a Pioneer—part of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart, a program for Catholic teetotalers—and how difficult it is for Americans to comprehend that some Irish just don’t drink.
In April, CBS3’s Jim Donovan, host of the Philadelphia Rose event, asked her what superpower she would choose if she could, Walsh drew cheers and applause from the large Mayo contingent in the room when she said she would choose the power to guarantee that Mayo would bring home the Sam Maguire cup, the prize for the winner of the Gaelic football finals in Ireland.
So, no surprise, Walsh decided to stay on in Ireland to watch Mayo take on Kerry on Sunday in this year’s All-Ireland football quarter finals. She herself played Gaelic football in Philadelphia with the local women’s senior football club, the Notre Dames.
When she returns, she faces a year of “adventures,” starting with media inerviews as well as touring all the Rose Centers in the US and working for a charity which is selected by the International Rose of Tralee committee.
“I think she’s going to heighten the profile of this festival so much, not just in Ireland but everywhere,” said Race of the first Rose ever grown in Philadelphia. “Right now, we can’t wipe the smiles off our faces. Talking to you right now, I’m grinning like a fool.”
Take a look at our photos from Maria’s two experiences at the Philadelphia Rose of Tralee event–and a few of her on the Gaelic football field with the Notre Dames.
