Southside graduate selected as 1 of 50 international representatives
by July 18, 2009 7:54 am 53 views
Leslie McDonough, who attended Trinity Junior High School in Fort Smith and was a 2003 graduate of Southside High School, was selected from 17 candidates to be the 2009 Texas Rose of Tralee at a June 13, 2009, gala, hosted by the Texas Rose of Tralee Center. McDonough will be among 49 other candidates from around the world who will travel to Ireland on Aug. 15, 2009, to begin the International Rose of Tralee Tour.
The festival is expected to draw some 200,000 visitors, with the main event of the week being the Selection of the 2009 International Rose of Tralee. This nationally televised show is the most watched televised event in Ireland, and can also be viewed on the internet.
McDonough earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in international business and French in 2007 from the University of Texas.
In 1998, McDonough and her family established an Irish Dance School in Fort Smith. McDonough’s Irish roots go back to her great-grandparents, who emigrated from Galway and Donegal, Ireland.
Her parents, Patrick and Linda McDonough, live and work in Fort Smith.