Meet your Offaly celebrity – the 2024 Offaly Nose of Tralee, Pugba.
Name: Pugba
County: Offaly
Age: 3years old
Breed: Pug
Special Skill: Singing along to the radio or Ed Sheeran, opening car windows, beeping car horns, turning off car radios, making others feel loved.
Favourite Food: Chicken nuggets, sausages, fruit and veg ect ( strawberries/melon/blueberries, carrots/cabbage/greenbean), anything mammy has food wise.
Favourite Toy: A little grey polar bear that my mammy gave me when I was just 8weeks old on our first meet and first car ride to my forever home, I still have my little polar bear to this day.
Favourite Place to Sleep: Mammy’s bed, mammy arms/lap, my own chair and bed, or really anywhere with my mammy.
Favourite Activity: Snuggles, car rides, dog shows, zoomies, traveling around ireland, watching tv/movies, walkies, getting the post, meeting new people, celebratiting with mammy ect( birthdays, mothers day, all holidays)
Favourite Place To Go For A Walk/Hangout:
Walks: My little village, beach on holidays, anywhere that people while stop and say hi and give pets.
Hangouts: My chair in the kitchen, mammy’s comfy bed, in my back yard where i like to soak up the sun.
Most Mischievous Thing You Have Ever Done?
1.) When i was a little pup I figured out how to climb up on my mammy’s bed at 10weeks old and I scared her when she woke up and the next night she found out how I had climbed up the night before.
2.) I think I was a few months old and I stole 50euro and Aary’s(nickname) I.D card, that same day I snuck behind the hotel bar to try serve my puppy self, the nice bar man told my mammy who laughed then he took my bowl and filled it with water and a ice cube it was so yummy.
3.) After collecting mammy’s friend Aary(nickname) who spoils me, he didn’t know he dropped his wallet and I found it and got caught trying to hide it under my blanket, I was two this time.
I didn’t get in trouble as everyone thought it was so funny and laughed.
How Did You Come Into Your Owners Life? My owner always wanted her own fur baby, she fell in love with my picture and when she came to meet me, we were insertable and that was the day she took me home to Offaly to my forever home, and she told me stories of all the family fur babies that were apart of her family’s life before she got me for herself.
What Makes You The Most Pawtastic Pet Ever! My human mum said I’m the most pawtastic pet ever as I like to spoil her with gifts and cuddles on lots of special occasions like for our birthdays, christmas, easter, mother’s day and all other fun holidays/birthdays/occasions. I also take part in decorating the house on xmas and halloween with my pug related decorations, I even dress up and hand out sweets to all the kids. 
Why Did You Decide To Enter The Nose Of Tralee? I saw my pug friends enter in 2023, and I looked at my mammy with puppy dog eyes asking her to enter me in 2024 that i wanted to be a nose so badly, so my mammy entered me for the fun, adventures, and making new friends, I remember mammy saying we might not get far but i was detriment to do her proud by becoming a nose to which I did for Offaly.
How Did You Prepare For The Contest And Get Votes? We went around to local bussinesses, put up posters where we were let, had a small car sticker, talked to papers/radios, told everyone we knew to share and vote, talked/meet with a few lovely famous people, told everyone we meet out and about to vote while out exploring/shopping/walking/dog shows, we also made Pugba a instagram and shared the vote link on all social media too.
What Did You Enjoy Most About The Nose Of Tralee? We enjoyed every moment of the journey, from making friends for life, to hearing all the lovely story’s, to all the cute pictures, to watching all our journeys. But most importantly making memories with everyone and my mammy.
What Advice Would You Give To The Next Nose Of Your County? From the whole journey, remember to have fun, enjoy all the memories that you will make along the way. Be ready to step outside of your comfort zone. Start handing out flyers straight away, get the exciting news out to as many newspapers/radios as you can, don’t forget to go to big events/meet locals, get your pets name out there, reach out to local famous people. But most importantly remember to enjoy every minute. You got this.
How Are You Handling Your New-Found Fame? Pugba has handled the fame very well as he is sort of use to it, as people come up asking about him while were out walking, at shows, etc., giving him pets, cuddles, and ask about his dog show wins. I don’t think Pugba knows he is famous, he just loves the attention and new friends
If You Could Be Any Super Hero Who Would You Be? I would say Pugba would be a lovepug, which is a superhero my human created for me, as a lovepug I go around fixing broken hearts, make people feel loved, make people smile, I take away all their pain and give them back the special happy joyful spark that they were missing. My human created lovepug superhero for me as I helped her with my special power, through kisses, cuddles and many more ways.
Where Can Your Fans Follow You Online? Pugba has his very own Instagram, I set it up for all his fans, friends, family to follow his journeys that he can’t wait to share with you all.
You can follow Pugba’s Instagram here: pugba_the_pug_2021
Kate McQuillan is the co-founder of Pet Sitters Ireland, an award-winning pet sitting and dog walking company established in 2010 with her husband, Michael. Together, they support thousands of pet owners across Ireland with trusted, in-home pet care. With over 14 years of experience, Kate shares practical advice to help pet owners feel confident and prepared when it comes to their pet’s care.
