Alice O'Sullivan

Alice O'Sullivan (born ) is the first ever winner of The Rose of Tralee, having been crowned in 1959. In 2009, she was one of the judges for the fiftieth anniversary of the festival. Rosita Boland of The Irish Times commented on O'Sullivan's admission that she had not watched any of the television coverage of the event in the years since her win: "This has to make her perspective tonight and tomorrow—on the annual mini-dramas of frocks, party pieces and lovely girls—unique among all past and present Rose of Tralee judges".

O'Sullivan was born in Dublin. As the Dublin Rose, she beat four other contestants; two from the United Kingdom, one from New York City and one from Tralee. Despite this, media hype was virtually non-existent when compared to modern festivals and O'Sullivan managed to get away with claiming that her cousin had won instead of her. She also contributed to Five Decades of Roses, a documentary which was originally aired on 24 August 2009 and gained a 36% audience share.

Upon her return as judge for the fiftieth anniversary, O'Sullivan described that year's bunch as "absolutely splendid and well-travelled" and said she was "astounded" by them. She described the judging process as "both interesting and challenging". Victoria Mary Clarke later wrote in the Sunday Independent of how O'Sullivan "glided glamorously through the hotel", commenting that "when I am her age, I would not object to being like her".