Orla O'Shea was the winner of the 2004 Rose of Tralee

Rose of Tralee (festival)

The Rose of Tralee festival is an international competition which is celebrated among Irish communities all over the world. The festival takes its inspiration from a nineteenth century ballad of the same name about a woman called Mary, who because of her beauty was called The Rose of Tralee. The...

 competition in Tralee, County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

. Orla is a native of Kilkenny City, and was the first Rose ever named from Kilkenny. She completed her Bachelor of Education studies at the Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

Mary Immaculate College , also known as Mary I or MIC, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts, founded in 1898. It became academically linked to the University of Limerick in 1991. The college has approximately 3,500 students and 300 staff...

 in June 2004.

She has since competed in third season of Charity You're a Star

Charity You're A Star

Charity You're a Star is a talent contest created by Radio Telefís Éireann, where various Irish celebrities sing to raise money for the charity of their choice...

, in 2007, with two other former Rose's of Tralee, Orla Tobin

Orla Tobin

Orla Tobin was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1981. She was the winner of the 2003 Rose of Tralee contest. She formerly worked for Bank of Ireland, has been a member of the RTÉ youth choir Cór na nÓg and was featured as an extra in the film Veronica Guerin ....

 and Róisín Egenton

Róisín Egenton

Róisín Ryan Egenton, a 23-year old woman representing New York, was crowned the Rose of Tralee in the Festival Dome, Tralee, in front of a live audience of over 2,000 on 22 August 2000...

, under the guise "The Roses".

Orla O'Shea is a granddaughter of the former Gaelic footballer Con O'Shea, who founded the Gaelic football club, Clan na Gael, and who died on 3 August 2008.