Ballinahown's Jennifer is new Offaly Rose

A newly-qualified doctor who lives just half a mile inside the Offaly border but who has strong links to Westmeath has won the coveted title of Offaly Rose.

24-year-old Jennifer Byrne, from Clonaderig, Ballinahown, said she was “absolutely delighted” to win the Offaly Rose title at a glittering Selection Night in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore on Saturday night last, and is really looking forward to representing her county at the International Rose of Tralee Festival in August.

With one of her parents, her father Declan, hailing from Baylough, Athlone and her mother, Mary, from Turraun in Offaly, it was a case of divided loyalties in the Byrne household when Jennifer was selected to represent Offaly in the Rose competion, but Jennifer says “the whole family are delighted” with her win and are already booking their accommodation in Tralee for August.

The oldest of three, Jennifer has one brother, Terry, who is 21 and her younger sister, Lorraine, is 19, and she says she has relations and cousins “all over Offaly and Westmeath” who are also delighted at her big win.

Despite the fact that she will be be carrying the green, white and gold of Offaly in Tralee in August, Jennifer Byrne's connections with Westmeath are very strong. She received both her primary and secondary education in Westmeath, having attended Ballinahown National School and Our Lady's Bower in Athlone and she represented the county at all levels in gaelic football with Garrycastle GAA Club, and played soccer at the same time with Bealnamulla.

The level of skill exhibited by the young Ballinahown soccer player brought her to the attention of the national women's team, and before long Jennifer Byrne was selected to play for her country at both Under-17 and Under-19 level on the Irish women's International Soccer squad. She played a leading role in the 2010 European U-17 Final where Ireland lost out on penalties to Spain, and she also donned the Irish colours at the World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

In recognition of her achievements in both gaelic football and soccer, the newly-crowned Offaly Rose was a past recipient of a Westmeath Independent Sports Star Award.

Sport, however, is just one of the many strings to Jennifer Byrne's bow, as she proved at the Rose Selection Night when she danced a very impressive hornpipe for the judging panel, wowing both the audience and her fellow Rose contenders with her dancing and her interviewing skills.

At 5ft 10 and a half inches, Jennifer Byrne was the tallest of the 14 Roses at the Selection Night, and now that she has swopped the international soccer stage for the international Roses stage, she is looking forward to shopping for outfits for her week in Kerry along with a host of other Roses from around the world.
She paid tribute to Annemarie from Ferbane Total Healthcare Pharmacy, who were her sponsors for the Offaly Rose competition and also to the many family, friends and supporters who came along to the Selection Night.

“It was a fantastic night, and I honestly still can't believe I won it” she says “it was great to get to meet and make friends with all the other girls who took part, and I am looking forward to doing Offaly and my family proud at the International Festival in Tralee.”

This week, however, it was back to normal for Jennifer after her exciting weekend, as she returned to the busy environment of University College Hospital in Galway where she is working as a doctor having qualified from NUIG in June of last year. She also returned to training with the Galway women's football team who are currently taking part in the National League.