The Tullamore man at the head of the Rose of Tralee Festival
By Kevin O'Neill
Tullamore native Steve Cronly has been heavily involved with the running of the world-famous Rose of Tralee International Festival.
First becoming a rose escort in 1999, having previously studied and worked in England, the former Tullamore Vocational School student was then appointed as the festival's full-time Director of Operations.
And this week, Steve told the Offaly Independent that preparations are now starting to ramp-up ahead of this year's event, which will take place between August 14 and 18.
“We are really getting going now,” Steve said.“All 32 roses gather together this week for the Rose Tour, which begins at Knightsbrook Hotel (Meath). Among other destinations we will go to Kilkenny, Moneygall, the Ring of Kerry and Listowel, and then the roses meet with the escorts. There is a lot of organisation and logistics that goes into the event, but I absolutely love my involvement with the festival as it's an institution for Irish people all across the world,” he added.
When Steve first got involved with the festival development committee, in 2003, the festival had eight official Rose of Tralee Centre's across the world. Since then, that number has increased to a massive 64, and still, said Steve, “countries like China, France and Spain are knocking on our door to gain entry”.
“The festival never stands still, to be honest, and keeps growing. There is a huge amount of organisation, loads of meetings and so on, but I enjoy the role. It is all worth it when the crowds flock to the festival and everyone has a brilliant time,” he said.
One of the many responsibilities of his role is to liaise regularly with RTÉ, whose main televised selection nights, hosted by Dáithí Ó Sé and Kathryn Thomas, are scheduled for August 17 and 18 at MTU’s Kerry Sports. Pre-production meetings and photoshoots (for the contestants) has recently been on the agenda at RTÉ studios, in Donnybrook, Dublin.
And Steve has also been busy in recent months working with representatives from Féile Thrá Lí (Street Fest), the free family-friendly street entertainment, live music, parades, and markets that run across the town for the duration of the festival.
Evidently, this is not an easy role, or a role for everybody.
“I'm lucky in that I have some wonderful staff working with me,” said Steve.
“The street parades, for example, so much goes into those, and the roses always say that one of the best memories from the week is the parade ceremonies. We get 15 to 20,000 people on the streets of Tralee for the parades and when things come together like that, it's definitely worth the effort.
"Some people have said that my job must become repetitive, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Every year is different with new ideas introduced. And then, you have the human aspect of it, with new roses and new escorts, and you make so many great friends through the festival,” he added.
Last year, Steve was delighted to welcome one of his own, the 2025 Offaly Rose Nicole Heffernan, to the festival. The primary school teacher from Killeigh was crowned on April 20, 2025, at the Tullamore Court Hotel and went on to represent Offaly at the international festival last August. Steve described Nicole as “a credit to her county” and said that she represented the Faithful County with style, grace and personality.
Only counties like Cork, Dublin and Kerry are guaranteed festival slots annually with the other counties more or less rotating from year to year, so Offaly will take its year-out from the festival until the 2027 edition.
Nearby Westmeath and Roscommon, however, are represented this year through Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh and Rebecca Collins respectively.
Steve said that one of his main responsiblities is to get to know the roses as much as possible, and “to take the best possible care” throughout the festival.
“The way that we treat people is what makes them stay involved with the festival for many years to come. A prime example of that is former Offaly Rose Jackie McIntyre, who stays very much involved and is one of our best judges at local level. Jackie has helped me so much, judging in Offaly but also places like Tipperary. When you arrive to the festival, as a Rose, you more or less become part of a big family, and it's wonderful when people stay involved with us in future years,” Steve said.
As for anyone considering entering the competition in the future, Steve said that people would not regret getting involved.
“It is hugely rewarding, both for potential roses and volunteers. It is a fantastic family festival full of fun and laughter and if anyone is worried about not having any standout talent, it genhinely doesn't matter. The judges do not take that into consideration – ever. It is not only a great opportunity for people to represent themselves, their families and communities, but also to be ambassadors for their towns, counties and then, possibly, for Ireland, as the Rose of Tralee's global reprsentative for the following year,” he said.
As for down-time, Steve is looking forward to two weeks rest after this year's festival but as he said, it will then be straight into the hectic planning process for next year's festival.