Alice O'Sullivan

Who is Alice O'Sullivan?

Alice O'Sullivan is the first ever winner of The Rose of Tralee, having been crowned in 1959. In 2009, she was one of the judges for the fiftieth anniversary of the festival. Rosita Boland of The Irish Times commented on O'Sullivan's admission that she had not watched any of the television coverage of the event in the years since her win: "This has to make her perspective tonight and tomorrow—on the annual mini-dramas of frocks, party pieces and lovely girls—unique among all past and present Rose of Tralee judges".

O'Sullivan was born in Dublin. She has lived in Roundwood, County Wicklow for four decades. Her father was a civil servant in Tralee, County Kerry. Working as an air hostess, she entered the Rose of Tralee at the age of 19. She later noted that she had to enter the hall alone as there was no escort system in the early years and that she had thought: "God, this is embarrassing". As the Dublin Rose, she beat four other contestants; two from the United Kingdom, one from New York and one from Tralee. Her prize involved the presentation of trophies at the races in Tralee for one week.