Tipperary’s Tara is tipped to take home the Rose of Tralee title!

BoyleSports has slashed the odds on a Tipperary victory at the Rose of Tralee in half from 12/1 to 6/1 as final preparations take place for this year’s pageant.

The annual international festival is set to get under way on Friday with presenters Dáithí Ó’Sé  and Kathryn Thomas welcoming 32 roses on stage who will bid to follow New York rose Roísín Wiley onto the winners’ roster.

County Tipperary has celebrated a Rose of Tralee winner just once before in 2008, but Ballina woman Tara Brady is being well backed to see the Premier county celebrating again. Tara boasts a particular interest in Irish culture and history and isn’t the only candidate hitting the Dome with a passion for Irish Dancing.

Donegal’s Niamh Shevlin is one half of world champion Irish dancing duo the Shevlin twins and at 13/2 is hot on the heels of Tara in the betting, with the winner set to be announced next Tuesday.

However, the current frontrunner according to the oddsmakers is Darcy Taylor, who is bidding to score a first victory in the annual pageant for County Derry. The Bellaghy woman will be no stranger to the lights and cameras with a Masters in Broadcast Media and Production on her CV and experience working for BBC Radio Foyle.

Kerry Rose Emer Dineen, a 23-year-old Radiographer from Castlegregory, is also rated a serious contender as 4/1 second favourite.  

It’s already been a summer of near misses for Galway, who suffered an unwanted hat-trick of defeats in camogie and men’s and ladies senior football All-Ireland finals.

Medical Social worker Deirdre Jennings faces odds of 66/1 to raise spirits in her home county, although with three victories in the past, only Dublin and New York can boast more Rose of Tralee winners than Galway in the record books.  

Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “With media experience on her resumé Derry girl and current favourite Darcy Taylor could be a natural on the big stage, but we’ll have a keen eye on Tipperary Rose Tara Brady as she’s been well supported in the past 24 hours.” 

Rose of Tralee Winner 

11/4      Derry - Darcy Taylor 

4/1         Kerry - Emer Dineen

6/1         Tipperary – Tara Brady 

13/2      Donegal – Niamh Shevlin 

7/1         Waterford – Abby Walsh 

9/1         Sligo – Megan McCormack 

9/1         North Carolina – Kathyrn Wright 

10/1      Yorkshire – Clidna Baily-Doyle 

12/1      Cork – Shauna O’Sullivan 

16/1      Chicago – Megan Cahill 

16/1      Kilkenny – Lisa O’Rourke 

25/1      Kildare – Catherine Cunningham 

25/1      Roscommon – Rachel Hastings  

28/1      Sydney – Ashling Henaghan 

33/1      Dubai – Ciara O’Sullivan 

33/1      Dublin – Casey Harris 

33/1      Melbourne – Dervla Dolan 

33/1      Wicklow – Kerry Byrne 

33/1      Monaghan – Anne-Marie McArdle 

40/1      Louth – Justine McGuirk 

40/1      London – Glenna Mannion 

50/1      Leitrim – Shauna Murtagh 

50/1      New York – Billie Cooper 

66/1      San Francisco – Maggie Baglin 

66/1      Ohio – Aoife Zeurcher 

66/1      Cavan – Grace Farrelly 

66/1      Galway – Deirdre Jennings 

66/1      New Zealand – Keely O’Grady 

80/1      Newfoundland & Labrador – Tammy Snook 

100/1    Perth – Maria Collins 

100/1    Florida – Molly Ronan 

100/1    Westmeath – Grace O’Connor