As the Rose of Tralee Festival is in full swing, the reporters of at TheJournal.ie had a chat with Maria Walsh, the first openly gay Rose – there’s one catch though, she can only respond with emojis.

Pretty soon, the Philly Rose will have to pass on her tiara to one of this years 65 hopefuls. She’s down in Tralee right now in the midst of the festivities – TheJournal.ie caught up with her via text.

Images via TheJournal.ie