Donegal Rose Amy Callaghan did her home county proud tonight in her appearance at the 58th Rose of Tralee selection night.
Amy was the sixth Rose to be interviewed on the first Selection night of the famous festival which is watched by the Irish diaspora all over the world.
The Glenswilly native had an impressive interview and performance, and even shocked Daithi with a spot-on Kerry accent!
In her interview, the 22-year-old was outspoken about the importance of mental health awareness and opened up about her own struggles.
“I think everybody goes through their own little blip throughout their life. I had mine when I was going into sixth year, that Leaving Cert cycle with the exam pressures and everything snowballed, with peer pressure as well, and I was very low in myself, my self confidence was at a terrible level and I was very anxious,” she said.
Amy spoke of how her mother Geraldine and father Séimí helped her through the difficult time. It was only after her best friend Ríona Hennessy and brother Cormac brought it to light that she was not herself that she got help.
She made an important point about why she is glad she sought help with her mental health when she most needed it:
“I was asked a good question by the judges,” she said, “if I was to look back on my life in 10 years time what would I say, would I have any regrets, and the main one is that I would be able to look back on my life and not regret anything. Even if nothing comes of it, that I’m able to say ‘I’m happy I did that’.
Amy said she was proud of the personal achievement she made tonight to stand on the stage in front of so many people.
Amy championed her home county well on the internationally-watched show and referenced Donegal’s proud title of Coolest Place on the Planet. She and Daithi were having good craic discussing local accents, but the friendship was almost cut short when she hit back with a top Kerry impersonation!
As a dance graduate of the University of Ulster, Amy took the opportunity to showcase a unique party piece. She showed strength, elegance, and grace in an aerial performance while suspended from a lyra hoop.
Image via RTE
Amy was radiant in a black dress from Tokyo Boutique Letterkenny which featured a dazzling embellished neckline and back detailing. She discarded this for the dance to change into a bespoke Donegal jersey from Michael Murphy Sports & Leisure.
The Donegal Rose will have to wait until tomorrow night before learning of the winner of the competition and the coveted crown.
Featured image via RTE
