Meet your Wexford celebrity – the 2022 Wexford Nose of Tralee, Lord Leroy.
Name: Lord Leroy
County: Wexford – Loch Garman Abú!!
Age: 15 months
Breed: 50% Vizsla, 25% Weimaraner & 25% German Shorthaired Pointer. I came from a beautiful family (Breeder: Jason McMorrow) in Sligo who only bred my pupper Mawm once.
Special Skill: Turning any dark day into a bright day with a twinkle of my amber eyes, sharing kisses, cuddles and regal wuffles. My favourite way to spend my time 🐾💕
Favourite Food: Carrots and yellow peppers are the best!
Favourite Toy: A toss up between Stitch and the leggy Flamingo
Favourite Place to Sleep: Anywhere as long as I am snuggled up to one of my favourite humans or four – legged furiends.
Favourite Activity: One month ago I would have said hiking and scaling the sand dunes in Curracloe but more recently I realised I like to rub shoulders with the celebrities and politicians!
I’ve met Danny O’Reilly from the Corona’s, the 2 johnnies, Paul McGrath, Michelle O’Neill – FIFA World Cup and Olympic Assistant Referee, The Wexford Rose – Joy Quigley, the Miss Ireland representative – Cassie Gaynor, the Mayor of Wexford Maura Bell, the chairperson of the Wexford County Council – George Lawlor, Kevin Cogley – Irish National Sprints and Relay Coach, Brendan Howlin T.D., Senator Malcolm Byrne, Cllr Lisa McDonald, Cllr Donal Kenny, Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy, Joe Ryan – Commissioner for Oaths, Pat Kent – Tourism Development, Johnny Mythen T.D., Cllr Andrew Bolger, and many more!!
The best afternoon of my campaign was hanging out with beautiful talented women at Johnstown Castle for the official opening of the Rose of Tralee Tour 2022. An afternoon of mingling and photos!!🐾💕
Favourite Place To Go For A Walk/Hangout: This is a tough one as there are so many amazing beauty spots in Co. Wexford!! But it has to be The Raven point. I get to use all my senses, firstly on the way to the point I sniff out everything possible in the woods with my tail standing to attention in my pointer pose, then I get to run as fast as I can in the sand dunes, and take a dip in the sea as my webbed feet were designed for such activities!
If I’m really lucky sometimes I might get to roll in a dead seal or bird and share the stench with Mawm by rubbing against her legs. Sharing is caring right!
And then when we walk back along the beach to the more populated areas I get to meet people for an obligatory butt sniff and have the bants with some fellow puppers.
Most Mischievous Thing You Have Ever Done? To be honest I’m a very well behaved pupper, my four-legged furiends taught me well. Ripping up dogdads expensive steel toe cap work boots was fun and I didn’t realise at the time if I damaged one that I got to keep both for a couple of days of glorious chewing 🐾💕
When Mawm first adopted me she was a bit annoyed at me eating concrete as I broke my puppy teeth and scratched the patio door glass with said broken teeth! – but she taught me right from wrong.
How Did You Come Into Your Owners Life? I was returned to my breeder as I was a very boisterous pupper and when Mawm heard about me through a friend she jumped in her car and travelled all the way to Sligo to get me! She knew I was a very special boy. That was the best day of my life!
What Makes You The Most Pawtastic Pet Ever! I am a stunning pupper with Amber eyes, a shiny chocolate brown coat and huge floppy velvet ears. When I sleep I sleep for Ireland and when I’m active – I’M ACTIVE! But I know the time and the place.
When I’m in public I’m very well behaved but when I run in the woods I go completely crazy as any young dog should! I’m affectionate with my cuddles and kisses, love young an old alike. I can tell if a dog is old or sick and sit by it’s side. And know when a puppy wants to play crazy games!
Why Did You Decide To Enter The Nose Of Tralee? To be honest I didn’t know Mawm had entered me until I was in the final representing Wexford! But when we started meeting so many new people I knew something was amiss.
Mawm told me she wanted the world to know how much I meant to her and the positive changes I had made to her life – Mawm works from home mostly as a result of the pandemic and she says I’m a fantastic work colleague. I also make her exercise – LOTS!
How Did You Prepare For The Contest And Get Votes? Mawm made sure she contacted all the local papers to spread the word, the Wexford People, Newross Standard, Gorey Guardian, Enniscorthy Guardian, Wexford Free Press, Slaney News and was featured on South East Radio and Beat102103! Orle Rapple from the Sunday Grill (Beat) came to visit me and interview me at home! That was pawsome!!
We contacted a local print company (think print and design) who printed business cards with QR codes, posters and a huge placard, free of charge as you cannot pay for advertising, which was erected on a fishing vessel on Wexford Quay for the duration of the campaign.
Half days off work were taken and we went out to meet people, take photos and promote local businesses on our social media channels.
We contacted one accommodating councillor and it all built momentum from then on. Mawm is not affiliated to any political party in particular so she made it her business to meet as many as possible from the various parties.
A study of the itinerary of the Rose of Tralee festival ensued and we turned up at the official opening of the Rose Tour, that took place at the very picturesque Johnstown Castle and were welcomed by all with open arms! I’m a lucky boy!
But that wasn’t enough, I heard some of the other finalists had managed to secure a TV slot, so I suggested to Mawm we up our game and meet some celebrities. That weekend we met Paul McGrath, Danny O’Reilly (The Coronas) and the 2 johnnies. This was not an easy task and Mawm had to use all her negotiation skills to make this happen!
Mawm also sent fastway couriers off with business cards to distribute one morning when they arrived with a delivery, a local driving instructor also gave business cards to his clients at lessons and anytime the two-legged sister went pubbing or clubbing she was equipped with business cards. Check out instagram/Facebook – it’s funny!
When we were in Athy for training (I wanted to learn new tricks), Mawm distributed business cards left right and centre. When she went to Dublin for a weekend she peppered Dundrum Shopping Centre with business cards, left them in restaurants, taxis, the hotel, anyone she met in a lift got a business card. If you crossed Mawms path you got to hear about Lord Leroy and the Nose of Tralee and Wexford Women’s Refuge!
Social media is probably the best place to get votes! Follow @lord_leroy1 where you can see all the people we met, all the beauty spots we featured, along with the local businesses we promoted and any other shenanigans that took place. Oh yes you can see me marry the love of my life, Winnie the bulldog!🐾💕
There are several groups Mawm joined on Facebook, dog groups mostly, Peaky blinders, E.T., motorbike groups etc. This meant I got to dress up as Tommy Shelby, E.T., wear a leather jacket, dress up as a chef! You name it – Mawm tried it! Anything to secure an extra vote!
We had people in America, India, Poland, , the U.K., Belgium, Kildare, Cork and Dublin voting for us that we were made aware of! Which was fantastic!
A local artist, Deborah Quinn, got involved and created a beautiful tufted rug art portrait of my cute face! She also got involved on social media sharing and interacting as much as she could!
We reached out to our local pet store – they wanted to get involved. Dec’s Pets Wexford paid for our second batch of business cards. We distributed 1,500 cards and 100 posters in total. Dec also invited us to the Castlebridge Horticultural show to look after a stall distributing dog food samples and stapled business cards to each sample.
I entered the dog show that day and came home with two rosettes and loads of dog food – but most importantly made new friends!!
I also had a bucket collection which was donated to WSPCA and the money was used to vaccinate a litter of puppies. At the start of the campaign I also delivered dog food to the nursing mother – a two week supply. And food for the feral cats in our area.
We are also raising funds for Dogs Trust Ireland and the challenge for August ceases end of August.
Friends and family were a fantastic support and a special shout out to Gràinne Hayes & Oliver Stack who helped out Mawm at the Rose Tour, taking photos and distributing dog treats and to Leona Hunt for hanging around for 2 hours to meet Danny O’Reilly!
What Did You Enjoy Most About The Nose Of Tralee? I didn’t think Mawm and I could bond more than we already had but our relationship developed and our communication improved dramatically- training with Houch at Canine Behaviour Centre helped with that too!
By the end of the campaign I became the coolest, most calm pupper you could meet. My social skills are excellent now!
Meeting new people was amazing, the sense of community was incredible and anyone we met was willing to get involved and have the craic.
But I think Mawm meeting Danny was the highlight for her. I bet she never changes her profile picture again!!
What Advice Would You Give To The Next Nose Of Your County? Just enjoy it. You do you. Don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with. There’s no point getting involved if you won’t enjoy it.
You don’t have to go out and meet people. That was our choice after being locked up so long, it was a great way to get out and meet people.
You can conduct your campaign online solely or choose to go out and meet people!
Best advice: contact the winners from other years and see how they conducted their campaign.
How Are You Handling Your New-Found Fame? I’m quite overwhelmed after getting an invite to visit Leinster House and also have been asked to be an ambassador for a brand new local online pet store due to launch in September – more to follow on my socials.
Who knows what other opportunities are in store. I know Mawm has some fantastic ideas for my future!
The support we received was unbelievable when the winners were announced – so many kind messages were sent. I had planned to donate the €500 Tesco voucher to the Wexford Women’s Refuge and was a bit disappointed I didn’t achieve my goal.
So the day the winners were announced (Well done Sadie and Betty) we set up a gofundme to raise €500 and less than 18 hours later we had raised €310!!!! 🐾💕 It’s not about fame for me – it’s about a sense of community and support, family and friendships.
If You Could Be Any Super Hero Who Would You Be? Well funny you should ask that! Mawm made us Super Hero bandanas during the campaign and they featured Wonder Woman along with Batgirl and Superwoman.
Mawm is passionate about women empowering women so I’m with Mawm, her favourite Super Hero is Wonder Woman, so she is my favourite too!!
Where Can Your Fans Follow You Online? You can follow me on instagram: @lord_leroy1 and on Facebook: LordLeroy Sinéad Quirke Ryan. Try a Google search too!
