Should Sheila's painting be exhibited in Tralee every August?
'Portrait of a Young Woman with a Rose'. Image Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA).
It is the earliest known face of a Rose of Tralee and her name is Sheila Galvin. Her features are unknown to generations in her home town – an astonishing fact given her links to the world famous festival.
The painting tells a fascinating story from 1930s Tralee. That Sheila's portrait was celebrated and promoted long before the Rose of Tralee Festival was even conceived is a remarkable, but little known, story.