Carrigaline Macra na Feirme member Jamie Flannery scooped the top escort honour at the 2019 annual Rose of Tralee festival. He won the Escort of the Year award as he celebrated his 26th birthday in the Dome.

Jamie was described on the night as an enthusiastic, ambitious, open-minded and courteous Gaelgóir from Dingle, topping the poll to win the prestigious Escort of the Year title.

RTÉ’s Dáithí Ó Sé announced the result live on RTÉ One during the first night of the Rose of Tralee TV show.

Jamie, who is a primary school teacher working in Gaelscoil Charraig Uí Léighin in Cork, has thrown himself into experiencing all that Macra has to offer. He represented the Seandún region at the Mr Personality Festival in April and played his part in Carrigaline Macra’s national final drama act.

Jamie said he enjoyed every moment of this year’s Rose of Tralee festival: “I think it’s a brilliant opportunity for people to make lifelong friends. The roses and rose escorts have been fantastic throughout the whole week. I’ve really enjoyed it and loved having this opportunity and I’m delighted to have won Escort of the Year.”

There were 32 rose escorts at this year’s festival and Jamie was paired for the first two days of the festival with the Limerick Rose, Sinéad Flanagan, who went on to win the overall accolade of Rose of Tralee 2019.

Jamie was paired for the remainder of the festival with fellow Macra na Feirme member, Abu Dhabi Rose Karen Cashman. Karen, from Glanmire Macra, had the arduous task of getting the live show started, being the first rose out on stage on Monday night to meet Dáithí Ó Sé. She is teaching in the United Arab Emirates for the past year. Karen told Dáithí about her involvement in Macra na Feirme.

Macra was well promoted throughout the two nights of live TV. Clodagh Cassin, the Kilkenny Rose and Ireland international hockey player, played some hockey with Dáithí but not before letting him know that her parents met through Macra.

Any Macra member interested in following either Karen, Clodagh or Jamie, should check out www.roseoftralee.ie for applications as roses or escorts for 2020.