SINCE it began in 1959, the Rose of Tralee International Festival has become about as quintessentially Irish as bad weather, good Guinness and Mass on a Sunday.
The Festival takes its inspiration from a 19th-century ballad of the same name about a woman called Mary, who because of her beauty was crowned the 'Rose' of Tralee in Co. Kerry - where the event is held each August.
The idea behind the beauty contest itself came when a group of local business people met in Harty's bar to brainstorm how to bring more tourists to the town and to encourage expats to return to their native Tralee.
The event started in 1959 on a budget of just £750 and since then, some 59 Irish women located around the world have been crowned the Rose of Tralee.
The Festival has gone through a number of changes but one thing is for sure, it still lights up the public imagination each and every year.
To celebrate this year's Rose of Tralee, we look back at the winning women of times gone by...
1959: Alice O'Sullivan - Dublin
1960: Teresa Kenny - Chicago
1961: Josie Ruane - Cork
1962: Ciara O'Sullivan - Dublin
1963: Geraldine Fitzgerald (RIP) - Boston
1964: Margaret O'Keeffe (RIP) - Tralee
1965: Therese Gillespie - Belfast
1966: Lorraine Stollery - New Zealand
1967: Anne Foley - Birmingham
1968: Eileen Slattery - Clare
1969: Cathy Quinn - Dublin
1970: Kathy Welsh - Holyoke
1971: Linda McCravy - Miami
1972: Claire Dubendorfer - Switzerland
1973: Veronica McCambridge - Belfast
1974: Maggie Flaherty - New York
1975: Maureen Shannon - London
1976: Marie Soden - New York
1977: Orla Burke - Waterford
1978: Liz Shovlin - Pennsylvania
1979: Marita Marron - Belfast
1980: Sheila O'Hanrahan - Galway
1981: Debbie Carey - Birmingham
1982: Laura Gainey - Peterborough
1983: Brenda Hyland - Kildare
1984: Diane Hannagan - Limerick
1985: Helena Rafferty - Boston
1986: Noreen Cassidy - Leeds
1987: Larna Canoy - Chicago
1988: Maryanne Murphy - New Zealand
1989: Sinead Boyle - Dublin
1990: Julia Dawson - Germany
1991: Denise Murphy - Cork
1992: Niamh Grogan - Galway
1993: Kirsty Flynn - Midlands, UK
1994: Muirne Hurley - Limerick
1995: Nyomi Horgan - Perth
1996: Coleen Mooney - Toronto
1997: Sinead Lonergan - France
1998: Luzveminda O'Sulligan - Galway
1999: Geraldine O'Grady - Cork
2000: Roisin Ryane Egenton - New York
2001: Lisa Manning - Perth
2002: Tamara Gervasoni - Italy
2003: Orla Tobin - Dublin
2004: Orla O'Shea - Kilkenny
2005: Aoibheann Ni Shuilleabhainn - Mayo
2006: Kathryn Feeney - Queensland
2007: Lisa Murtagh - New York
2008: Aoife Kelly - Tipperary
2009: Charmaine Kenny - London
2010: Clare Kambamettu - London
2011: Tara Talbot - Queensland
2012: Nicola McEvoy - Luxemborg
2013: Haley O’Sullivan - Texas
2014: Maria Walsh - Philadelphia
2015: Elysha Brennan - Meath
2016: Maggie McEldowney - Chicago
2017: Dr Jennifer Byrne - Offaly
