Dia dhaoibh arís mo chairde! It's been 6 months since August in Tralee!! WOW! Time is absolutely flying by me. “How is this my life?!” is a question I ask myself every morning when I wake up. I can hardly remember what life was like before this. I had been living in Dublin, with fellow contestant Tolu Makay on Dancing with the Stars, and it was my first time living away from home. I've been experiencing a whole new life I never imagined possible for myself. The Rose of Tralee Festival has opened my eyes to the world outside of Laois and Kilkenny and I will be forever grateful for it.
Where do I even start? When I was writing my last Rose Newsletter, I had just moved out of home and it had just been announced that I would be on Dancing with the Stars Ireland. Training started on the 1st of December and I will never forget my first time walking into the studio. A young and confident 21 year old thought this would be easy… how quickly she was proven to be wrong! Nonetheless, it's safe to say that myself and Leonardo were paired quite well. We instantly bounced off one another and the craic was had, so I knew I would be in safe hands.
As if I wasn't busy enough rehearsing 5 days a week, I also continued fulfilling my Rose of Tralee duties and attending a few Rose events in December. I stayed at the fabulous Fitz of Inch in Stradbally, Co. Laois with my younger brother Jack and sister Molly as we watched the Late Late Toy Show. A stunning venue not too far from home. I also had the privilege of returning to my local parish Ballyragget and turning on the Christmas Lights. It was a wholesome evening spent surrounded by those with whom I grew up.
Christmas break came around so quickly, I moved back home and held my fundraiser event for the annual humanitarian Rose trip to Poland in aid of Chernobyl Children International and the Happy Kids Foundation, in my local pub The Wheel Inn. I had fellow Roses and Escorts in attendance and we had a great night. Aishling Rafferty played the music all night long and the event raised over €1300 for the cause. Sincere thanks to everyone who contributed and came along in support on the night. Christmas was spent with family and friends, as living in Dublin makes it harder to see them. New Year’s Eve wasn't long coming around, as the 2025 Rose of Tralee class rang in the New Year in style in the Knightsbrook Hotel in Trim, Co.Meath. We started our Rose Tour here back in August and it was so special to be able to return to the place where it all began. Celebrations were cut short early on New Year’s Day however, as I had to return to Dublin to prepare for my first DWTS performance which was being televised on January 4th.
Tango was my first dance, a dance said to be technically difficult and it definitely was. Don't be fooled by how it looked on the television. A lot of hard work and back pain was endured. It was such a nerve wrecking day that Sunday, I was second to last to dance that night. However, the moment the VT ended and the audience started cheering, all my nerves, worries and stress disappeared. One minute and thirty seconds to give it EVERYTHING I had, and I definitely did that. I couldn't believe how much I loved the thrill of performing. Instantly I felt excited for the next show, and that feeling continued to progress every week. Not a thought crosses my mind when I’m on the dance floor, only the dance moves that I have rehearsed intensely the week prior. We got a score of 31, I couldn't believe we had hit the 30s mark on our first week, it was amazing.
Week 2 was a jive, however, a different jive to the one I performed on stage down in Tralee as my party piece. The pace was much quicker than the week before and I struggled with this massively. In the middle of training, I got so fed up with learning the jump kick method that I decided to teach my partner Leo my style of jiving… that's where he figured out how bad my posture was! :/ I had to be sassy and smiley which wasn't easy for me either. While I have no problem acting this way in reality, when you're playing a character in the midst of dancing, it's a lot more difficult than people might think. This was also the first night that a couple were sent home. It was daunting… not knowing who it could be.
Movie week was the theme for the third week and our movie was Snow White. An American Smooth with a touch of quickstep and a whole new character, a prim and proper princess. It’s far from what my personality is. Monday was a hard day in rehearsals. Leo kept saying “back to work Snow White” anytime I stopped for a break which infuriated me. It tested me further with my patience and I learned that I was going to have to push myself out of my comfort zone a lot more than I expected. I got to include some Irish dancing steps though, which added a touch of authenticity to it as well. I learnt to really love the dance by the end of the week - we had lifts too for the first time which were quite exciting.
I kept the month of January very quiet for myself with Rose events as I wanted to give my full attention and focus to dancing rehearsals. One of my only events this month was attending the World Travel Show in RDS. I was invited to this stand by the Kerry Tourism Industry Federation to be part of the Kerry Stand. I got to see all the different types of tourist attractions each county in Ireland has to offer and their hotels too. There was also various country stands as well such as Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. I met so many interesting people who taught me so much about what each country can offer for tourists. I have such an interest in different cultures around the world and this event was right up my alley.
Country week was my favourite theme this year, I had so much craic this week with different video shoots and really letting my personality shine through. I brought Leo down to the farm at home and showed him what my life outside of Dublin looked like. I taught him how to feed the cows with silage, then I introduced him to the calves in the shed. This made my Dad and I laugh so much, he didn't know what to do with them. He had never been on a farm before and it was pure entertainment for us watching on. Into the tractor we got, for a spin down the farm lane. Another thing that shocked Leo, was that we have dinner at 1pm in the middle of the day. Farmers dinner time I told him, and he couldn't believe it. Safe to say, he won't be returning back anytime soon! We danced the quickstep to Marty Mone’s song ‘Hit the Diff’. It was so fast and my stamina was definitely tested this week.
Dedication dance week has probably been my most memorable dance of this season. I was thankfully able to choose my own song for this week and I chose ‘Never Enough’ from the Greatest Showman movie. This song has such a deep meaning in it that I always felt such a connection to. Being able to dedicate this dance to my parents was my way of showing them my appreciation for how they raised me. This was also the first time I had opened up publicly about my hearing disability so it was an emotional week.
Myself and Leonardo made the trip down home again and surprised my parents with the news. They got quite emotional too, as it was quite unexpected for them. I had been excited about doing a contemporary dance since I started rehearsing for DWTS but when it came to the time to actually learn, it was difficult! It's a dance that requires you to be free and let loose. It's all about emotion and how you feel the music through actions. Again, it was a work in progress for a few days but eventually it came together quite nicely. Sunday night was so emotional performing the dance which I didn't expect to overwhelm me as much as it did. This night was left on such a high note because we had won immunity which saved us from the dance off the following week!
Monday morning, I was down in Tralee for an event for the first time since moving to Dublin and I met Don O’Neill who is an International Judge for the Festival and joined him and his husband Paschal for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit back to the Kingdom and was overjoyed to be dolled up by the amazing Brush n Blush salon and makeup artist YellivelIt was a quick trip down for the day and I returned to Dublin that night. I always thoroughly look forward to returning to Tralee to the Meadowlands Hotel as they have been so supportive of me these past few months. I look forward to the steak sandwich there every time I’m back – It is always there waiting for me!
The iWish festival for women in stem is a standout event in my calendar that I have been a part of. An amazing day celebrating women all over Ireland who work in so many different sectors. I was honoured to be a keynote speaker and inspire 2500 students who attended the event. I spoke of my experience as a woman in a female dominated trade and why this life was the right path for me. There was an amazing line up of speakers, from Olympians to tradeswomen, it was exceptional.
Getting painted pink and purple for week six of DWTS was not what I expected at all. Fright night was so much fun, we cha cha’d our way through the week and it was sassy, bold and cheeky. I played a teenage ‘Monster High’ doll character who Leo had to try and flirt with through the dance. We had such a laugh putting it together and it was iconic. We felt extra pressure to perform even better because we didn’t want anyone to think we felt safe after winning immunity the week before. This was the first dance where I felt the most comfortable, I got to keep my legs straight which is the most natural for me and it made it a lot easier to learn.
I was privileged to attend Seanad Eireann in Leinster House to witness the Statement of Apprenticeships in February. It was very interesting to hear representatives from different counties talk about what needs to be done in relation to apprenticeships and how the local education training centres need more support. I felt honoured to be in attendance at this discussion with my employer John Dwan and his wife. I have spoken at many events about the importance of apprenticeships in the industry today and I am pleased that there are many others who share the same passion that I do.
“Best female celebrity rumba” is a quote I’ll never forget from week 7. A passionate, intimate dance that required me to fully let go of my fears and embarrassment and just go for it. A challenging week to say the least… I thought I had let my barriers fall and had already let go of my fears, but this week proved me wrong. However, when it came to the Sunday, I had grown to love the dance and the passion that had shone through and it has been one of my favourite dances to date. My dress was red and sparkling silver, and it reminded me of being a rose even though I didn’t look like one LOL! This week we also had the team dance, and all the female celebrities were on Team Spice. We took inspiration from the Spice Girls, and 2FM presenter Laura Fox was on our team. We had so much fun putting this dance together and even though I was too young to know the band I took on Mel C’s character quick enough. ‘Sporty Spice’ was my nickname and one I’m pretty sure I lived up to fairly well. We won against the lads who were Team Take That. As good as the shows had been, this night had an amazing atmosphere, and we all loved being part of a team.
The Sligo selection took place on 21st February in the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone. It was a 3 hour trip from Dublin and the first of the 2026 selections to take place. I was adamant to make an appearance even though strongly suggested not to, because it was the night before the show. Two of the Rose Escorts PJ and Ted drove me to Sligo and back in the one night and I was delighted to have been able to witness the first 2026 Rose get selected. It was a great night with amazing girls and I was honoured to be able to congratulate Bethany McLoughlin our new Sligo Rose in person. It was a late night drive back to Dublin but it was worth it.
I got my first full score in Week 9 and it was a 50!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes when Brian Redmond put up the 10 score card, I was in shock. Viennese waltz to one of my all time favourite songs ‘You are the Reason’ by Callum Scott was a dream come true. I loved this dance, it reminded me of times I have waltzed with my Mam in our local pub, The Wheel Inn. An elegant and classy dance which was so comforting to do. I felt overcome with emotion when I received my first full score, it was a sense of relief that my improvement was finally coming to life.
Orchestra Week was an experience I will relive over and over again. It was simply beautiful to hear and feel the music in person but more importantly to dance to it. Salsa was our chosen dance to a song Ran Kan Kan, a traditional Latin song. Leo was overjoyed with the choice of dance and music whereas I was not. Salsa was the one dance I was not looking forward to performing and it was twice as hard as I imagined it to be. The song was fast and had so many accents and beats to hit with our dance. There was a lot of pressure on this week as it was the quarter final. We worked very hard and I knew it was Leo’s favourite dance to perform and I wanted to do him justice. The performance was so much fun, it was upbeat and the audience were well entertained. We had some crazy lifts and tricks which were tough to learn but so much fun to perform.
7th March was the night of the Kildare selection in Westgrove Hotel in Clane. An amazing night yet again with a great atmosphere of support for all 23 entrants. Once again, I was delighted to be in attendance to witness Jess Hunter be selected as the 2026 Kildare Rose. I didn't stick around too long for the celebrations and headed straight back to Dublin to prep for the next day.
My Kia Niro has served me so well for allowing to travel independently around the country. My journeys have been at ease and comfort and I have no doubt the car will be put to more use when I return home from my travels abroad.
We made it to the semi- final and we finally got a Charleston. Wacky, funny and crazy were the best way of performing a Charleston. I had to work on my facial expressions a lot this week, putting me further outside of my comfort zone but the hard work paid off when we received full scores again. I was beginning to believe going to selections the night before a show was good luck! This week we also performed a trio dance with an eliminated pro dancer. Myself and Leo got paired with Alex, who was a joy to work with. She taught me a lot about being a female dancer and gave me some tips on how I could dance better. We danced the samba to ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé and it was a dance where I was the 'star of the show.’ Knowing all eyes would be on me dancing alongside two amazing pro dancers was absolutely daunting at first, but I had to learn to embrace it and I believe I did to the best of my ability.
I was overwhelmed with emotion when I knew I had secured a place in the Dancing with the Stars 2025 final. How is this real? I cannot believe how much my life has changed since I wrote my last newsletter. A life I never imagined possible for myself, a 21 year old from the small village of Ballyouskill. I still don't think it's hit me that I have achieved all of this in such a small space of time. But it's not over yet!
Monday morning, we got straight to work. I knew for my showdance I wanted to make it extremely special and unique to me. Leo understood this perfectly and created the most amazing choreography for our final showdance. ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren was the song chosen for us and we cannot wait to perform it. It's currently Saturday 14th March, the night before the final and I have spent a significant amount of time reflecting on these past few months.
I am so grateful to every single person who has supported me on this journey, both DWTS and as the 2025 International Rose of Tralee. I have seen every message, comment and video of support and encouragement and it has meant so much to me. I sound like a tape record on repeat but I again, never expected life to be like this and could not be more appreciative for how every person has supported me.
My experience is far from over, the day after the final I jet off to New York. I will be leading out the Roses and Escorts in the St.Patrick's Day parade down Fifth Avenue. I am beyond excited to be reunited with my 2025 class and travel for two and half weeks around America and Canada. I will be visiting Toronto and Ottawa and the Canadian rose centres have organised many events and trips for me for my visit. I have always loved travelling and doing this as part of my Rose of Tralee duties is something I have really looked forward to. I can’t wait to update you again in a few short months!
Katelyn x
