Alice O'Sullivan
Bornc. 1940
Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
OccupationAir hostess
Known forWinning The Rose of Tralee in 1959

Alice O'Sullivan (born c. 1940) is the first ever winner of The Rose of Tralee, having been crowned in 1959. In 2009, she was one of the judges for the fiftieth anniversary of the festival. Rosita Boland of The Irish Times commented on O'Sullivan's admission that she had not watched any of the television coverage of the event in the years since her win: "This has to make her perspective tonight and tomorrow—on the annual mini-dramas of frocks, party pieces and lovely girls—unique among all past and present Rose of Tralee judges".[1]

O'Sullivan was born in Dublin.[2] She has lived in Roundwood, County Wicklow for four decades.[3] Her father was a civil servant in Tralee, County Kerry.[4] Working as an air hostess, she entered the Rose of Tralee at the age of 19.[2] She later noted that she had to enter the hall alone as there was no escort system in the early years and that she had thought: "God, this is embarrassing".[2][5] As the Dublin Rose, she beat four other contestants; two from the United Kingdom, one from New York City and one from Tralee.[3] Her prize involved the presentation of trophies at the races in Tralee for one week.[3] Her win was not broadcast on national television, as was the case in later years, but it was shown to an audience in a local parish hall.[4] T. Ryle Dwyer's The Rose of Tralee, Fifty Years A-Blooming stated that "a whole entertainment ecosystem" involving donkeys and sheepdogs emerged from O'Sullivan's victory in the pageant.[4] Despite this, media hype was virtually non-existent when compared to modern festivals and O'Sullivan managed to get away with claiming that her cousin had won instead of her.[2]

O'Sullivan was heavily involved in the promotion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Rose of Tralee. On 24 January 2009, she appeared alongside then Rose Aoife Kelly on Tubridy Tonight to discuss the event's fiftieth anniversary on live television.[6] She also contributed to Five Decades of Roses, a documentary which was originally aired on 24 August 2009 and gained a 36% audience share.[7]

Upon her return as judge for the fiftieth anniversary, O'Sullivan described that year's bunch as "absolutely splendid and well-travelled" and said she was "astounded" by them.[3] She described the judging process as "both interesting and challenging".[3] O'Sullivan partied all night, provoking that year's winner Charmaine Kenny to say she felt like "a bit of a party popper" for having had one hour of sleep and "a bit of a lightweight beside her".[8][9][10][11] O'Sullivan, instead of going to bed, then embarked on a 3 kilometre (2 mile) walk the following morning.[9][10][11] Victoria Mary Clarke later wrote in the Sunday Independent of how O'Sullivan "glided glamorously through the hotel", commenting that "when I am her age, I would not object to being like her".[12]

References

  1. ↑ Rosita Boland (25 August 2009). "The Roses, the Rosebuds, the gúnas, the odds and the escorts". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 September 2009. HERE'S SOMETHING to meditate on. Alice O'Sullivan (69), the first Rose of Tralee, who has returned to the festival as one of this year's judges for the 50th anniversary, has never watched any of the television coverage over the intervening years. Nothing at all. Never. Not once. This has to make her perspective tonight and tomorrow – on the annual mini-dramas of frocks, party pieces and lovely girls – unique among all past and present Rose of Tralee judges, writes ROSITA BOLAND.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Paul Whitington (22 August 2009). "Five Decades of RosesMonday, RTE1, 9.35pm". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Denise Clarke and Anne Lucey (25 August 2009). "50 years on and the Roses are still in full bloom". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Donal Lynch (23 August 2009). "Our rose shows no sign of wilting". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  5. ↑ John Boland (29 August 2009). "Rose-tinted glasses leave me goggle-eyed". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Aoife Kelly & Alice O'Sullivan". RTÉ. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "885,000 Viewers As Jubiliee Rose Of Tralee Is Crowned". Irish Film and Television Network. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  8. ↑ Charmaine Kenny (28 August 2009). "I had an hour's sleep after they made me Rose of Tralee -- I'm such a party pooper". Evening Herald. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  9. 1 2 Fiach Kelly (28 August 2009). "New Rose gets into the swing of things". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  10. 1 2 Rosita Boland (28 August 2009). "Trinity graduate and scholar looks forward to showing off her tiara". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 September 2009. "I feel like a party pooper saying I slept for an hour last night," she confessed. That would be, she told us, because Alice O'Sullivan, the winner of the first Rose of Tralee in 1959 and a judge this year, had not slept at all – and had already been out for a 3km walk.
  11. 1 2 "It's Charmaine's day as Roses charm Tralee". The Irish Post. September 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  12. ↑ Victoria Mary Clarke (30 August 2009). "How the Dude of Donegal could be our male 'Rose'". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
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