Enniskillen pharmacist John Slowey was awarded the title of Escort of the Year at the 2016 Rose of Tralee Festival this week.

A “delighted” John is still enjoying the Festival in Tralee today amid looking after the Roses, fielding phone calls from various radio stations in Kerry and celebrating with his friends and family.

Son of Kevin and Dympna Slowey, John, 26, applied to be an escort after years of persuasion by his mother. His sister Niamh was the first Fermanagh Rose in 2006. In June he and the other Escorts were put through their paces at bootcamp in Dingle, where they faced challenges including turf-footing, abseiling, kayaking, surfing, ironing and sewing in order to prove they will have the stamina to be a Rose Escort.

The live TV shows took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Chicago Rose Maggie McEldowney winning the title of Rose of Tralee.
“It’s been a fantastic week,” said John, whose “heart was pounding” as he waited to hear which of the three finalists had been chosen as Escort of the Year.

“I don’t know what clinched it for me,” said John, who had got his guitar out on a few occasions during the week. “I wasn’t serenading the Roses,” he laughs, “I was just trying to get the craic going.”

After a week of holding umbrellas over the Roses and escorting them to various black tie events and parades through Tralee, John was rewarded with a prize of €1,000. He will attend various Rose of Tralee events during 2017 as well as the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York. He will be invited back to next year’s Festival to pass the mantle onto another Escort.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge. Last year’s Escort did a lot of awareness raising for Pieta House but you can be associated with whatever you want,” said John.

The Fermanagh Rose, Mairead McHugh from Kinawley did not make it to the last 35 Roses who appear on the TV interviews. John concluded: “Mairead did a brilliant job and the Fermanagh support was fantastic; it was great to see Fermanagh faces in the crowd.”