New Donegal Rose ‘still in shock’ after Rose of Tralee selection victory
Errigal College Teacher Emma Nelis describes 'surreal' feeling after winning county selection event
The newly-crowned Donegal Rose has said winning the title as Donegal’s contender for the 2026 Rose of Tralee was “overwhelming,” “a complete whirlwind,” and “surreal.”
Emma Nelis, a 24-year-old History and English teacher at Errigal College from Gartan, was declared the Donegal Rose at a selection event held at An Chúirt Hotel in Gweedore, and immediately celebrated with a trip to London, where she took in Legoland and the Harry Potter Studios.
With her victory at the Donegal Rose Selection event, Emma is now Donegal’s representative for the 2026 Rose of Tralee, which is to be held in August.
Representing The Lagoon Bar in Termon, Emma said: “Today was my first day at work, and I had a big reception and a guard of honour. It was lovely, but I have not really come round to the idea yet.”
The former NUIG student said she was “still in shock” even after the dust had settled from her victory.
“It is surreal,” said Emma. “My family are so proud. For the past two days, my phone has been non-stop. It is just remarkable to see. It is overwhelming.
“My parents are in Lanzarote at the moment, but they are so proud. They had the holiday booked before they knew. They are over the moon. As a family, we would have sat down to watch the Rose of Tralee. It is a big staple in the house.”
When asked about how she entered, Emma replied: “It was my sister and her friend. My sister is friends with the Canada Rose from 2014. She messaged me to send the link to apply for it.
“She said I would be great for it. A month went past, and my sister and her asked again, and they said ‘apply right now!’ I never expected anything to come from it. I went down for the craic.”
Despite winning the Donegal Selection, Emma knows that she’ll have to raise the stakes for Tralee.
I am going to have to do a talent now for Tralee
“For Donegal, you have interviews all day, and group interviews and in the evening, we have our dress rehearsals and our onstage interview, then with the public.
“We talked about my teaching career, my love of sports - I play football for my local club. I volunteer and coach the Under 8 girls at my club. We also talked about Glenveagh National Park, where I have worked for the last four summers, and where my family actually lived in the castle. My mum was a caretaker. My parents lived there for 16 years before moving to Gartan before I was born.”
Now that Emma is this year’s 2026 nominee for Donegal, she said she was looking forward to promoting the “beautiful” county, along with another matter that is close to her heart.
“For Acquired Brain Injury Ireland,” said Emma. “Glenveagh are hosting a 5km fundraiser event at the end of June, and my mum and I are organising a bucket collection on the June Bank Holiday Weekend.
“The reason that is close to my heart is that my brother, Michael, was knocked down by a vehicle in Letterkenny in 2009, and he now has a brain injury and is paralysed down his right side. If it were not for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, we probably would not be able to cope day-to-day. They supply carers who come out to the house, which is a huge help.”
Emma is now looking forward to meeting all the Roses from the different counties and international locations entering this year’s Rose of Tralee event, and name-checked the Galway Races as a bonding event she had seen in the past that she would be excited for this year.
She also had a message for other contestants in this year’s Donegal Rose Selection event.
“There couldn’t have been a nicer group of girls,” gushed Emma. “We all bonded so well. Everyone was so nice. It turned out I knew some of them, or we had mutual friends. We are still in contact.
“They are going to organise to come to Tralee to support me, which is amazing. Such a lovely group of girls.”