Representing her county on Tralee stage is a dream come true for Roscommon Rose

For Roscommon Rose, Rachel Hastings, representing her county in the iconic Rose of Tralee Festival is a dream come true.

Last Thursday, the 27-year-old Ballyforan woman met with some of the other roses at the Galway Races.

“It is something they always do but it is not an official Rose of Tralee event. It doesn’t kick off until the 11th when the tour begins at Barberstown Castle. That’s where all 32 Roses will meet,” Rachel told the Roscommon Herald.

“This is always something I dreamed of, and it was hard to believe that it was actually me being selected. It meant the world to me. I want to represent my friends, my family, my community, local businesses, and the whole county. I hope to do them all proud.” The daughter of Monica and Claude, Rachel is an active member of the community, contributing to her local club St Aidan’s GAA in the Healthy Club initiative. She has also volunteered in Kenya, working with young people in a school setting.

Since she was selected in June, she has been busy but has enjoyed every moment. But being busy is nothing new for Rachel.

As well as being a home economics lecturer at St Angela’s College, Sligo, she is pursuing a PhD in ‘Education for Sustainable and Responsible Living’.

A former teacher at the Convent of Mercy in Roscommon Town and Garbally College, Ballinasloe, she believes that home economics should be a mandatory subject.

“It’s about nutrition and the importance of eating healthy food, but also it looks at sustainability, such as sustainable textiles and upcycling. It also looks at money management so it’s a multi-disciplinary subject.

“It is of deep importance to everyone. Everyone needs to be able to prepare food, everyone needs to be able to sew a hole in their sock. We need to go back to what our grandparents did.” During Covid, she and her sister Miriam set up the ‘Keeping up with the Hastings’ Instagram page, which has more than 21,000 followers and highlighted life on her family farm.

“At that point during Covid, everyone was very much down and didn’t know what to do. We decided that we wanted to show the positive outlook, that farming had to continue on even when Covid had stopped everything,” she said. “It was very much about spreading positivity during the pandemic and we have continued to share and post stories each day. Both of us are involved in education, and we enjoy sharing and educating people about tips and tricks we do on the farm. Farming and non-farming people follow us, which is great.” She said that while there were many challenges facing farm families, it was also very important to highlight the positives.

“It is so important to show the better sides to it because there are always good things coming down the track,” said Rachel.

The sisters also run an Easter Camp, which has raised over €10,000 in the last five years for local charities- Mayo Roscommon Hospice, Joseph Belton, Roscommon Special Olympics, and Nicola Brennan Murphy.

“I really enjoy volunteer work,” she said. “The community really came in behind us in these events. Just last weekend as part of my send-off party in the Big Apple in Ballyforan, we had a fundraiser for Nicola Brennan Murphy and raised €1,505. The support was absolutely unbelievable, and I want to thank everyone.” Rachel said she is looking forward to meeting all the other Roses and making her way to Tralee.

“The two live TV nights are on August 19th and 20th. I have very fond memories of the Rose of Tralee from a young age from watching it here in Ballyforan with my mum and my sister and I have attended the dome for a number of years, and I have enjoyed listening to each Rose’s achievements and their goals. For me being on that stage, it is a dream.” To keep up with Rachel’s journey make sure and follow, the Roscommon Rose Facebook and Instagram pages.