The 2011 Washington, D.C. Rose of Tralee and 2008 graduate of Virginia Tech, Miss Dorothy Moriarty Henggeler (B.A. Communication), took part in the Irish and International Regional Final of the Rose of Tralee, held during a five-day, fun-packed festival in Portlaoise, Co. Laois on June 2-6th, 2011.

On the evening of June 6th, 2011, Dorothy was selected as one of the Rose Finalists, to continue on to the The Rose of Tralee International Festival in August. The Rose Finalists will tour throughout Ireland, visiting locales such as the Guinness Storehouse, Newbridge Silverware, Irish heritage sites, national monuments, and other local attractions, before heading to Tralee, Co. Kerry for the International Festival. On the tour, Dorothy will be joined by 31 other Roses from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand; as well as other American and Canadian Centres.

The Rose of Tralee International Festival is one of Ireland's longest running festivals. It is based around the selection of the Rose of Tralee, an international event that encompasses young women of Irish descent from Ireland and around the world. The 2011 Festival will take place August 19th to the 23rd, in Tralee, Co. Kerry, with the Roses' live on-stage interviews taking place on August 22nd and 23rd. These interviews will be aired live on RTE Television, the National Broadcaster in Ireland, and will be available live online at www.rte.ie/player.

The 2011 International Rose of Tralee will be crowned on Tuesday 23rd August. Full details about the 2011 Festival and the Roses are available from www.roseoftralee.ie. 

For information on becoming the 2012 Washington, D.C. Rose of Tralee, please email the Centre at washingtondcrose@gmail.com.