Moate personal trainer is crowned 2009 Westmeath Rose

An Athlone girl who lives in Moate was crowned the 2009 Westmeath Rose last Friday night. Nichola Ryan, 26, a personal trainer, is thrilled and proud to be representing the Lake County. She will now contest the Leinster finals in June and if successful, will go on to take part in the 50th year of the Rose of Tralee festival in August. 'I"m delighted, it"s a great thing for me,' she said. 'Hopefully I will get through, but even if I don"t, I still hold the title of Westmeath Rose for a year and that"s a great achievement. I still have that no matter what happens in Portlaoise in June.' The chatty, friendly woman works for the Aura Leisure Centre in Tullamore, who are also her sponsors for the event. She said that entering the contest was always something that was in the back of her mind. 'I always watched the Rose of Tralee when I was a girl and I met Paula Gannon last June at my birthday and she suggested that I should go for it. I thought it was a great way to meet people and knew it would be great fun,' said Nichola. A total of 18 contestants took part in this year"s county heats and over 200 people attended the Westmeath Rose final last Friday in the Athlone Springs Hotel. The show was hosted by RTE personality Brendan McArdle, also in attendance on the night was Steve Cronly, National Coordinator of the Rose of Tralee. 'I was nervous but excited about Friday, but once I got up on stage I was fine,' Nichola said. She was stunned when she was named as the winner and gave a magnanimous speech afterwards in which she thanked the other Rose contestants. She said it was a special night for her and her family. Nichola said that you can"t pretend to be someone you"re not in a competition like the Rose of Tralee. 'The overall thing I think is your personality and how you interact with the other girls. They want you to be confident in who you are, just to be yourself and be genuine,' she said. Nichola thanked Paula Gannon and the Westmeath Committee, her boyfriend Dessie, her parents Louis and Patricia and her sister Ann. She also thanked her sponsors and boss in Aura and all her supporters who have been 'very encouraging'. Nichola wore a full length, salmon pink ball gown on the night and her hair was done by MoHH in Arcadia. She was presented with a €1,000 cheque from Athlone Springs Hotel, a €1,000 worth of hair styling from MoHH, Newbridge Silverware jewellery, a relaxation day at the Temple Spa and a bouquet of flower"s sponsored by Dooley Flowers. The Westmeath Rose Committee, headed by Paula Gannon, would like to thank the sponsors of the event. The staff and management of the Athlone Springs Hotel, The Westmeath Independent, Temple Spa Retreat, Moate, MoHH, Newbridge Silver, Dooley Flowers and Seery"s Wholesalers and also all the individual sponsors of the contestants. 'We would like to wish Nicola all our very best wishes in Portlaoise representing Westmeath and all of the other Roses for making the night so special,' said Paula Gannon, on behalf of the committee.