Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough and Ohio Rose Annie Dunn of Fairview Park at the Rose Ball on the festival’s opening night Friday.

Westlake mayor, delegation visit Tralee,
Fairview resident competes for ‘Rose’ title
By Kevin Kelley
Published Aug. 26, 2009

Tralee, Ireland, is Westlake's sister city.

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough, Westlake Planning Director Bob Parry and their wives traveled to Tralee, Ireland, last week to visit their sister city.

Clough and the Westlake delegation, paying their own way, were welcomed to Tralee Town Hall by Deputy Mayor Mairead Fernane and fellow council members on Saturday afternoon. Fernane spoke of the similarities between both towns and the bonds of friendship that had grown between the members of both councils in recent months, according to Tralee’s official Web site.

Clough spoke of the strong Irish influence in Westlake, noting that five of the seven council members are Irish, according to the city of Tralee Web site.

Clough and the delegation are in Tralee during the 50th annual Rose of Tralee International Festival. Named after a 19th century ballad about unrequited love, the festival includes a contest, similar to a beauty pageant, in which women of Irish descent compete to be named “The Rose of Tralee.” The final segment of the contest is broadcast nationally in Ireland and can be seen on the Internet at www.roseoftralee.ie today at 3 p.m.

Clough presents Tralee Deputy Mayor Mairead Fernane and Former Mayor Ted Fitzgerald with a framed copy of Westlake’s sister city resolution and framed photo of Westlake City Hall Saturday.

Ironically, one of the women competing to be named “Rose of Tralee” is Fairview Park resident Annie Dunn, who was crowned 2009 Ohio Rose of Tralee. The daughter of John and Colleen Dunn graduated from DePaul University in June.

In a phone interview with West Life on Tuesday just hours before the competition began, Annie Dunn said she wasn’t nervous but was excited to be participating in an event that is one of Ireland’s highest rated TV programs each year.

“It’s been the most unbelievable experience of my entire life,” Dunn said.

She’s made friends with many of her 49 fellow contestants, she said. Although they are all in a competition for a coveted title, Dunn said the ladies have been very supportive of each other.

During the program, Dunn will sing “At Last” popularized by singer Etta James.

Dunn’s mother and aunt both competed in the Ohio Rose contest, and Annie wanted to be the second generation of her family to be involved in the Rose festival.

She met up with Clough at the Rose Ball held on Friday, the opening night of the festival.

“This has been the trip of a lifetime for Annie —absolutely priceless,” Colleen Dunn said Monday via e-mail from Ireland. “She has been treated like a princess for the past two weeks.

“It’s been wonderful having the Westlake mayor here for the twinning of Tralee with Westlake at the same time as Annie is representing Ohio in the international pageant celebrating its 50th year!” she said.

Previous West Life articles:

• Mayor traveling to Irish sister city of Tralee
  

On the Web:

• Official Web site of Tralee, Ireland
• Rose of Tralee Festival Web site
• City of Westlake Web site