"My mam always lived life to the fullest. She travelled to America and Australia when she was in her 20s, studied to become a hairdresser before that. She pursued what career she wanted to do, didn't listen to anybody and she influenced me to have that mindset as well. She went travelling for two or three years and then she came back home and opened up her own salon."
"What makes it extra special this Mother's Day is that my dance is dedicated to her. It's a perfect fit really for Mother's Day. I hate to be taking the spotlight away from her on Mother's Day being in the Dancing With The Stars final, but I think she'll be immensely proud to have it on a day that means so much to her as well."
"While people put a stigma on to somebody with a disability, her mother taught her to ignore other people's opinions and to believe in herself. She pushed boundaries for herself that she never even realised, and then she is teaching her kids to do the same thing."
Katelyn, a 21-year-old apprentice electrician and current Rose of Tralee from Ballyouskill, Co Kilkenny, is competing in the Dancing With The Stars final on Mother's Day. She dedicates her dance performance to her mother Siobhan, who has been her greatest inspiration. Despite having a genetic hearing disability, Katelyn credits her mother with teaching her to live life to the fullest and ignore societal stigma. Her mother pursued her own ambitions by traveling internationally, studying hairdressing, and opening her own salon, instilling in Katelyn the mindset to push boundaries and believe in herself. Katelyn reflects on her remarkable transformation over the past year, from keeping her Rose of Tralee application secret to now competing as a Dancing With The Stars finalist.
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]