Suad Mooge, Dublin's representative in the Rose of Tralee festival, has spoken about the backlash she faced online after her selection, describing how her TikTok was "completely flooded" with comments questioning her right to participate as someone of Somali heritage.
In an interview following the festival's culmination, Mooge reflected on the experience, balancing Gaelic pride with her Somali identity, and called for Ireland to confront racism and xenophobia directly.
A whirlwind affair and viral backlash
Mooge, who submitted her own entry after seeing an Instagram ad, was chosen as Dublin's Rose from among 39 competitors. She described the 10 days before the final as a "whirlwind affair," with all the roses touring Ireland, meeting the public and attending cultural events before arriving in Tralee for the televised finale. Everywhere they went, she said, they received a "huge welcome."
However, that warm reception came alongside a huge viral onslaught. "Even when I first got elected as Dublin Rose," Mooge recalled, "In the first 24 hours there were 10,000 tweets. Then it was 20,000, 50,000." Many comments and posts questioned her participation and veered into racism and abuse. "My TikTok was completely flooded. Some bits were fun. I got to go on TV and do the Six O'Clock Show, but the incoming of people commenting online was a bit mad." She had to lock her accounts and stay off her phone. Even rightwing US media picked up on the news, dog-whistling about a "Somali Muslim" in the contest.
Mooge said it was "hard" to be at the centre of the backlash, with the contest already "physically and emotionally overwhelming." She remembered the other women with her, one of 32, and how they helped and supported each other.
An Irish cultural institution and post-colonial pride
The Rose of Tralee, in its 66th year, is a unique Irish festival whose purpose is "bringing back that Irish connection" between the Irish at home and the diaspora abroad, with Irish women at its core. Mooge spoke with excitement about what she learned during the festival, quoting dramatist John B Keane on County Kerry: "two kingdoms — the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Kerry."
She referenced a recent resurgence of pride in Irish culture, including traditional music and the Gaelic language, after centuries of colonial erasure under British occupation. "We were forced not to speak our language any more, but Irish is having such a comeback; everybody is doing Irish lessons. Irish culture is everywhere now; there's a real pride in it, there's a lot of reclaiming, we still came out on top and still have our culture. And people want to integrate and become part of this culture."
Facing racism and the pace of change
Mooge said that uncomfortable conversations are often avoided in Ireland, with the response to racism and xenophobia often being: "'Oh, it's grand, it's grand. It's just a couple of eejits.' We just brush things under the rug. A few things can be true at the same time. Yes, there is a lot of noise online and in person everyone is lovely. In the same breath, there is an issue. We need to face it. Otherwise these people will just continue sharing these ideas."
She noted that immigration to Ireland is relatively recent compared with the UK. Her family came in the mid-90s and were the only Somali people in their area. Since then, immigration has increased drastically. "There was never that slow transition into it, and the country wasn't necessarily equipped for that on a government level, and that trickles down to the people. They haven't put proper systems to integrate systems and integrate people, as well as support the locals. It's caused a divide."
The result, she said, is that "Ireland has become so much more diverse, but I don't think people's idea of Irishness has fully caught up. When I was elected as Dublin Rose, it tickled a lot of people's feathers because it challenged their idea of what it means to be Irish. They don't picture someone who looks like me. Representation and acceptance have not moved at the same pace."
Processing the experience
The noise has died down. Mooge has taken a week off and is processing what happened, slowing down and staying off her devices. Alongside the fatigue, she expressed a steely determination. "My mam raised me not to let this stuff affect me," she said. "You're going to get a lot of shit, but don't back down. At the same time it was hard. But I'm at a healthy level of 'don't give power to these comments.'" She has learned not to "let people's ideas of you limit you."
She ended by mentioning her mother and her generation. "A lot of our families have come from war. They crossed oceans to be here. There's nothing that could compare to what our parents went through." How can she let the criticism get to her? "You can't. Wallah, you can't."
