Sinead McGahern Western Canada Rose

Published: Aug. 20, 2017, 12:25 p.m.

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WESTERN CANADA ROSESINEAD McGAHERNHi\\u2019a, my name is Sinead McGahern, and I feel truly blessed and honoured to be the 2017 Western Canada Rose. I am 27 years old, and currently living in Calgary, Alberta. I was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where my parents, Patrick and Kama decided to settle down. My father, Patrick, is from Co. Cavan and immigrated to Canada in 1976. My mother, Kama, is from Lynn Lake, a small mining town in Northern Manitoba.

When I graduated high school, I moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend Dalhousie University. In 2013, I graduated with a Civil Environmental Engineering Degree and moved to Calgary. I have been working at a small environmental consulting firm for the past three years and have been fortunate enough to travel for work throughout southern Alberta and British Columbia.In my spare time, I enjoy being outdoors, especially snowboarding in the winter and hiking in the summer, primarily in the Rocky Mountains. I have a love for the arts, and enjoy painting, metal smiting, writing, and photography. Yet, my passion is dance; I attend Irish dance training twice a week, and I volunteer my time, teaching at my Irish dance Academy once per week. Most of my weekends in the spring, summer and fall are filled with adventuring throughout Alberta and British Columbia in my 1986 Westfalia VW camper van. Since I am an only child, I am very close to my parents, which has me talking on the phone to them every day and spending time with friends every chance I get.I am beyond ecstatic to be attending the 2017 Rose of Tralee International Festival as the Western Canada Rose. I cannot wait to begin this journey and show how proud I am to be an Irish Canadian, representing my family in Ireland and community in Canada.

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