A trainee accountant from Ballinasloe was this week named as the top escort at the Rose of Tralee festival in Kerry.
Ian Cullinane, the Escort to the Mayo Rose Dervla Kenny, was announced as the winner in front of a live audience on RTÉ One Television during the first part of the Rose of Tralee Selection.
He has won a prize from Newbridge Silverware valued at over €10,000.
This will include a cheque for €5,000, a complete set of silver-plated cutlery personalized with his family crest and the gents style collection of watches and cufflinks as endorsed by Newbridge silverware Ambassador, Ronan O`Gara.
Ian works as a trainee accountant for ESB. He is a member of Bective Rangers Rugby Football Club and enjoys cooking, listening to music and swimming in his spare time.
Speaking shortly after the announcement he paid tribute to both the Mayo Rose and his fellow escorts.
“I am really honoured to win this award. I landed on my feet with Dervla. She is a great ambassador for Mayo and has done her county very proud.
“I was very apprehensive coming in. I did not know what to expect, but it has been a fantastic experience,” he said.
While the Galway Rose Anna de Paor did not qualify for the final this year, there was Galway representation in the shape of Craughwell native Nóra Ni Fhlannagáin who represented London.
Nóra is studying for an MSc in Sports Nutrition at Oxford Brookes University. When she graduates, the 23-year-old plans to move back to Ireland to work in the fields of weight management and elite athlete sports nutrition.
This year her undergraduate research project on rapid weight loss methods in UK horseracing jockeys received widespread media attention in the UK and Ireland, and as far afield as New Zealand.
