[caption id="attachment_69424" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Adrienne Hussey with her boyfriend and escort, Eoin Treanor."]
A former Rose of Tralee winner who was originally from Texas has died in a Dublin hospital after taking suddenly ill.
Adrienne Hussey (26), who was the 2010 winner and who had been living in Dublin since last year, took ill on Wednesday January 18 and died the following night in Beaumont Hospital of a suspected brain hemorrhage.
Her boyfriend Eoin Treanor, who was her escort during the 2010 festival, was with Adrienne when she fell ill and was keeping a vigil by her beside when she died. Many of her fellow Roses were also with her.
Adrienne's parents flew over from the U.S. and arrived in Ireland on the day of her death. Originally from Plano, Texas, Hussey worked as a social worker in a non-profit school prior to the Rose of Tralee festival. She focused on young people who had dropped out of high school, this after graduating from Texas University with a masters degree in social work.
Having roots in Dublin and Waterford, Hussey had stated it was her dream to return to Ireland following her victory.
She always spoke fondly of her participation in the festival, saying: "having the chance to be a Rose was an opportunity of a lifetime and I can honestly say it has changed my life in more ways than one."
Oliver Hurley, general manager of the Rose festival, said he was shocked by the news.
"It was with great sadness that we received the news of the untimely death of Adrienne. We extend our deepest sympathy to Adrienne's family, her boyfriend Eoin and to her fellow Roses," he said.
Joan Moody writes from San Antonio: There is a widespread feeling of sadness in the Texas Irish community following the death of Adrienne Hussey, the 2010 Texas Rose of Tralee and the eventual winner of the International Rose of Tralee competition. As the Texas Rose, Adrianne had visited San Antonio for the 2010 Harp and Shamrock's Installation Banquet.
