While the annual Rose of Tralee sees a selection of women of Irish descent from around the world conservatively celebrate traditional Irish culture in county Kerry, last night’s Rose of Trinity in the Sugar Club took a decidedly contemporary approach, as host for the evening, Hugh Fitzgibbon noted that, after all, “It’s 2017”. The night, organised by Trinity Vincent de Paul (VDP), formally launched Raise and Give (RAG) week, a week of events from societies across campus that aims to raise money for charitable causes.
Bringing a wealth of energy and charisma to the night from the off, Fitzgibbon told the audience that there would be both male and female roses taking part in the competition, with prizes for best sash worn, best talent and of course, best overall rose. The judging panel were then introduced to the audience as “Snapchat sensation” James Kavanagh; Trinity chaplain Rev Steve Brunn; and former chairperson of VDP, Martha Shackleton. Fitzgibbon then hastily moved on to the main event, noting that “just as Trinity is running out of money, I’m running out of material”.
Representing An Cumann Gaelach, Áine Haberlin was the first rose to take the stage, escorted by current chairperson of VDP, Sam McMahon. Hailing from Co Laois, Haberlin was happy to chat in Irish about herself and her society. She then offered a rendition of “An Poc ar Buile” to the audience as her talent, providing, as Fitzgibbon noted, a “token bit of Irish” for the night.
Orla Heatley was the next rose to display her talents to the audience, escorted by Harry Higgins. Representing the University Philosophical Society (the Phil), Heatley brandished a sash that displayed the letters “PWC” noting that it paid “homage to the corporate overlords”. Much to the delight of her supporters from the Phil, Heatley then challenged her escort to a “rollie” rolling competition, which unfortunately did not end to well for this rose.
SUAS Trinity rose, Robin O’Byrne, took to the stage next, escorted by the chair of the society, Kevin Keane. After leading the crowd in a comical “Wonderwall” singalong, O’Byrne then offered an acoustic version of a song she had written about the refugee crisis, entitled “Lullabies”, as her talent to the audience. In the midst of the hilarity of the evening, the beauty of the lyrics of the song seemed to resonate with the audience, elegantly reflecting the ethos of the society and the daily struggles facing refugees around the world on a daily basis.
Magic provided the theme for the next rose who took to the stage. Representing the Trinity Club in Trinity VDP, Donal Lowry was dressed as a magician, commenting that “you might have noticed by my outfit that I’m actually addicted to attention”. Accompanied by Trish O’Beirne, the Trinity Club rose then proceeded to present a number of magic tricks to the crowd and encouraged audience members to get involved also.
From Trinity’s Voluntary Tuition Programme (VTP), Grace Buckley spoke about the art, drama and debating club that her society offers to children in the local area. Accompanied by Lorcan O’Byrne, Buckley doned a VTP sash that inspired Fitzgibbon to ask “you made [the sash]? I thought one of the kids made it”. O’Byrne then revealed Buckley’s saxophone to the crowd, and she proceeded to play with enthusiasm.
Representing Zoo Soc, Anna Whitaker took to the stage supporting a soft toy snake in place of a sash. This caused some confusion for Fitzgibbon: “You’re wearing a snake, but you’re not in the Hist. I don’t get it?”. With her parents in the audience and her brother, Gavin Whitaker, by her side as her escort, Whitaker then offered a number of “dad jokes” to the audience as her talent, asking them “Did you know that five out of four people are bad at fractions?”
Following an escort competition that saw escorts compete with the best chat-up lines (“do you like cheese? Because I’m an easy single”), DU Amnesty offered a “Slave Auction” as the interval act, the irony of which failing to escape the majority of the audience. The auction saw a great deal of money raised for charity, with a birthday serenade from the Trinitones going for €70 being among other lots that were sold. The event also gave those in the audience who had been anxiously waiting to take their clothes off for charity the opportunity to do so, with Rachel Skelly offering the audience an insight into the strip lesson that she had sold for €50 to one audience member.
Not surprisingly, the most eccentric rose of the night came from DU Players, as Hannah Crowley entered the stage with her escort ,Conor Murray, on a leash and wearing muzzle. “You’d know they’re in players wouldn’t you?”, Fitzgibbon remarked. Crowley then offered an erratic and operatic rendition of “Careless Whisper” on melodica.
Representing Dublin University Management Science Society (DUMSS), Cathy Caslin was the next rose to exhibit her talents for the audience, escorted by Brian Lawlor. Although basic questions from Fitzgibbon seemed to prove quite a challenge for Caslin at this late stage in the evening, she managed to win the crowd over with a reading of a poem she had written about “being a hun in the Hamilton”.
The newly formed Trinity Musical Theatre society (TMT) was also represented on the night, as Caoimhe Tyndall took to the stage accompanied by Sean Cassidy. After some shameless plugging for the society’s upcoming musical, West Side Story , Tyndall then proved the talent that the society has to offer by singing “Taylor the latte Boy”.
The Q-Soc rose, for the evening was Leo Connell, escorted by Jane D’Altuin. By taking part in the competition, Connell jokingly wanted to “carry on the tradition of English people coming to Ireland and taking everything”. Connell then passionately performed spoken word, claiming that the piece was “reparations for all the time men hit on women when they didn’t want them to!”
Representing Student 2 Student (S2S) and Peer Support, Liam Forbes then took to the stage, escorted by Christina Fitzsimons. Discussing his career prospects as a future philosophy graduate, Forbes light-heartedly made it difficult for Fitzgibbon, commenting “I am a philosopher, I always respond with a question.” He then wowed the audience and judges alike with a remarkably professional performance of “Nella Fantasia”.
The final rose of the evening came from Dublin University Equestrian Club (DUEC). Jemma Parkhill, escorted by Jack Hutchinson, s discussed her work as tetrathlon co-ordinator in the club. Together, Parkhill and Hutchinson then offered a lip-sync performance of “My Lovely Horse” followed by “Horse Outside”. They exhibited the ability to sway together to the music, though doing so in sync proved, at times, quite a challenge for the pair.
At the end of the night, the roses gathered on stage to hear the verdict of the judges. Best sash was awarded to DUMSS’s Cathy Caslin, while best talent went to Players’ Hannah Crowley. The coveted position of the Rose of Trinity was deservedly awarded to Suas rose, Robin O’Byrne. Though it can be said that the event did feel quite long drawn out at times, credit must be given to Fitzgibbon for the energy and charisma that he maintained throughout the night, bringing the best out of the contestants and the audience alike. On the whole, the night proved itself to be massive success for Trinity VDP, setting a high standard for the events to follow throughout the rest of RAG week.
