{"id":551716,"date":"2026-06-24T12:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/551716\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T12:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:16:17","slug":"everything-i-do-is-for-mum-meet-the-2026-cork-rose-lexi-linnane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/551716\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Everything I do is for mum\u2019: Meet the 2026 Cork Rose Lexi Linnane"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t want to be known as \u2018the Rose with a sob story\u2019 but as someone who is optimistic and resilient, regardless of what life throws at her.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the message from newly-crowned Cork Rose Lexi Linnane who plans to use her platform this year to raise public awareness of stroke symptoms, and in particular how it\u2019s something that can impact people of all ages.<\/p>\n

Lexi\u2019s mom Tracey died tragically three years ago after suffering a devastating stroke at the age of just 37.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom was one of the healthiest and fittest people I knew \u2013 her stroke was completely unexpected,\u201d said 19-year-old Lexi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely horrific, devastating,\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n

Tracey was a well-known and popular member of her community and ran Footdreams Performing Arts studio at the Mahon Point community room for 17 years.<\/p>\n

\"StephanieStephanie McCarthy, 2019 Cork Rose, who was a student at Footdreams Performing Arts, with Lexi’s mum, Tracey O Donovan Linnane.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad and I kept the school going for a few months afterwards but I was only 15 and in the end we decided that mom would have wanted us to focus on our grief and our healing and not the business and that\u2019s what we did, pushing through as best we could as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going back to school after her death was incredibly hard but she saw it through. Lexi took a gap year after her Leaving Cert and has just completed her first year of Early Year Childhood studies in UCC. She also teaches dance and musical theatre, inspired by her mother, and is the social media manager and content creator for Mahon Point Shopping Centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I do now is for mom,\u201d said Lexi. That includes her trying out to be this year\u2019s Cork Rose.<\/p>\n

\"LexiLexi at the Cork Rose selection night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw an ad for the competition back in January and it got me thinking. As corny as it sounds it has always been a dream of mine to enter \u2013 I\u2019ve so many memories of the competition growing up, getting my school bag ready after the holidays and it being on in the background.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also thought it would be an opportunity for growth and the perfect way to use my voice in a meaningful way to promote stroke awareness,\u201d said Lexi.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people, including me, think a stroke can only happen to an older person but I know now that\u2019s not true and it\u2019s a passion of mine to get that message out there and make sure people recognise the symptoms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"LexiLexi with her dad after being named the 2026 Cork Rose.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s the eldest of three and has a brother Lennon (15) and sister Mabel-May (5).<\/p>\n

\u201cMabel-May was only two when mom died and I suppose I\u2019m a mother figure to her as well as a sister. I want to show her mom\u2019s values through me. She was such a strong and incredibly kind person whose smile would light up a room. She was just one of a kind and I want her to know that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When Lexi\u2019s name was called out as this year\u2019s Cork Rose her legs almost went from under her!<\/p>\n

\u201cI was genuinely so happy with the experience of taking part and friendships I had made among the group of 25 of us. I\u2019ve never experienced a bond like it \u2013 it\u2019s like having a huge group of sisters! To hear I had won then as well was unbelievable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"LexiLexi Linnane, Col\u00e1iste Daibh\u00e9id past pupil, with students who had just finished their Junior Cycle Spanish Exam; Lia N\u00ec Shuilleabhain, Aoife N\u00ec Mhainichin, Amelie Sotiriou, Gr\u00e0s N\u00ec Chathail, Lara N\u00ec Dhoinn, Art \u00d2 Ceallaigh, Vaughan \u00d2 Mordha, Cormac \u00d2 Tuama and Lennon \u00d2 Lionn\u00e0in, also included are, Tadhg \u00d2 Laighin, Col\u00e1iste Daibh\u00e9id Principal and Ciara Breathnach, Lexi\u2019s former Irish teacher.\u00a0Picture: Jim Coughlan<\/p>\n

Her dad Dave and entire family were in the audience to support her and Tracey was there in spirit.<\/p>\n

Lexi is now looking forward to a busy summer ahead, fulfilling commitments as the Cork Rose, continuing her work and preparing for the Rose Festival in August.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s already visited her old school Col\u00e1iste Daibh\u00e9id in her new role and is proud to promote the title and what it represents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Rose festival is more than just an event but a place to celebrate women and kindness and I\u2019m so excited to be part of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I know that mom would be weak for my Rose journey, she would be absolutely delighted and I\u2019m going to do everything I can to make her proud,\u201d said Lexi.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Rose of Tralee International Festival will take place from August 14 to 18 in Tralee, promising five days of celebration, culture and connection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I don\u2019t want to be known as \u2018the Rose with a sob story\u2019 but as someone who is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[18,117,19,17,888,8073],"class_list":["post-551716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rose-of-tralee","tag-wow"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116805042047735893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}