1.7 million tune in to Rose of Tralee

AFTER TWO NIGHTS of loveliness, the Rose of Tralee for 2015 is…

In recent years, Twitter has made the viewing experience all the more enjoyable… and the social networking site positively LIT UP when the Monaghan Rose took to the stage.

The first contestants in this year’s Rose of Tralee contest have been put through their paces for their live TV performances.

The second night ranked ninth in the top 10 programmes for the year across all channels.

But the 22-year-old medical student plans to write a book she hopes will help others battling the disesae.

“It felt like being hit by a double-decker bus”, she said.

“Cancer is part of me, but not all of me”.

“He was like, ‘Elysha it’s Ryan, ‘ and I was like, ‘Hi Ryan!'”.

“I know a lot of people focus on the cancer end of things and it is important to honour it and not be flippant about it”.

She treated the audience to a rendition of The Bright Blue Rose by Mary Black and, on a lighter note, also revealed her fondness for The Late Late Show. “I’m not the next Maria Walsh, I’m the new Elysha Brennan”, she said.

The journalism graduate now hopes to pursue a career in Ireland, possibly in media.