Doctors give Rose Elysha all-clear to tour all 32 counties
RECOVERING cancer patient and Rose of Tralee winner Elysha Brennan is ready to set out on a 32-county tour of Ireland after getting the all-clear from her doctors.
Ms Brennan, from Meath, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma weeks before her Leaving Cert began. But the 22-year-old medical student is now in remission. She underwent routine health checks before Christmas and is in good health.
This weekend she will set out on a fourweek nationwide campaign to enlist participants for the 2016 Kerry festival.
However, she has been warned by her oncologist not to over-extend herself. While 2014 winner Maria Walsh completed the 32county Rose of Tralee tour in 16 days, Elysha will spend a full 32 days travelling Ireland.
‘My tests went perfect – nothing showed up and my bloods are clear, but my doctor warned me to watch myself that I don’t get tired,’ she told the Irish Daily Mail. ‘Maria doubled up counties and did the tour in 16 days, but I have to look after myself because no one wants me to burn out and fall ill.’
Elysha has taken a year out from her medical studies at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to make the most of her Rose of Tralee experience. As a ‘frugal student’, she is using her own high street clothes and will also rely on loans from boutiques to ensure she looks her best for her fourweek nationwide trip in the search for 2016 participants.
Although Rose of Tralee winners receive €25,000 to cover travel and expenses for their reign, Elysha is footing the bill for her official wardrobe. She said: ‘The most stressful part for me is the wardrobe. I won’t lie, I’ve huge anxiety about what I wear. Evie Cromly is our stylist this year and she’s incredible. She’s in remission too and got her five-year all-clear this year, so we have a special relationship. ‘I’m wearing a lot of high street because I’m still a student, but I’m wearing a few Irish designers too – a lot of people have been really kind.
‘I didn’t want to go out and spend a fortune. I’m not used to having loads of money, so I’m recycling some of my own wardrobe and being creative with pieces!’