Hard work pays off for Katelyn as she leads 'Dancing with the Stars'

KATELYN Cummins has had a busy morning. She has spent her early hours in rehearsals, preparing for her next appearance on Dancing with the Stars. By the time we speak – an overcast afternoon on Blue Monday – she has just finished.

The hard work is paying off. At the time of writing, with a total of 59 points scored so far, Katelyn and her dance partner, Leonardo Lini, are leading alongside singer Tolü Makay and Maciej Zieba.

The journey to Irish TV stardom has been a strange one. “I grew up on a dairy farm”, says Katelyn, who hails from the Laois-Kilkenny border.

“I would have always helped my dad milking cows and feeding calves, and I would have always worked in the outdoors, especially with my younger siblings.” Through working on the farm, Katelyn (21) discovered that she enjoys working with her hands and seeing hard work come to fruition from start to finish.

“When I was in school, I found it really hard to study”, she says. “I would have been one of those kids that looked out the window a lot during class.” She struggled with rote learning – “looking at a book and rewriting something over and over to try and learn it” – preferring the tactile nature of hands-on education, the kind she had found at home.

“I said to my dad, I don't really have any interest in going to college because I hate studying and the pressure of the Leaving Cert and the CAO points.

“My dad said, ‘why don't you think about doing work experience in a field that you think you might be interested in?’” Katelyn’s father told her about apprenticeships she could try, “a learning system of working with your hands and learning through your hands.” He put her in touch with a local electrician, who took her on for the week.

“We visited a swimming pool, a cheese factory, a school, and a normal house. I was seeing the different schematics of different buildings being wired, and it really interested me seeing how like every building was done differently.” Katelyn had found her career path. She was working as an electrical apprentice when she applied for the Rose of Tralee.

“I'd always watched the Rose of Tralee growing up, in my household. I loved watching the girls get up on stage and talk about themselves.” In December 2024, Katelyn’s Dad sent her an Instagram link for the Laois Roses 2025 meetup. It was an information evening about applying. She was initially unsure if this was the right time in her life to go for it, but eventually decided to put herself forward, “for the craic”.

“Like why not go for it and see what it's all about?”, she reasoned.

Katelyn was crowned Rose of Tralee 2025, becoming the first Laois rose to win in the festival’s 67-year history.

Reflecting on it now, Katelyn calls it a “once in a lifetime experience.” She embraced the opportunity to make new friends. “I don't meet that many new girls, and especially when you're in your twenties, it's hard to make more girl friends, especially if you're not in college or If you don't do any extracurricular activities.” She described the environment of the competition as “happy, supportive, and encouraging”.

She continues: “There is never any badness in anybody or any evilness. It's purely just 32 girls who are so happy to be able to represent their community and their family. It really is just a weekend celebrating who you are as a person.

“I honestly cannot wait to go back down to Tralee next year, not even to hand [the sash] back over, but to relive the experience all over again, and relive it with other girls who are experiencing it for the first time.” 

Katelyn informs me that at some point in November she took stock of her schedule since winning. “I think it had been something like 102 days since I had been announced as the Rose of Tralee, and I had done over 110 events.” 

Viewers of the Rose of Tralee were impressed with Katelyn’s jiving skills. Dancing with the Stars would seem like a logical progression. Katelyn, however, was surprised to get the call. “I fell off my bed. It was unbelievable. I could not believe it.” Although a shock, she accepted with delight. “I've watched Dancing with the Stars for the last few years that it's been on, and, really, really enjoyed it, same as the Rose of Tralee. You’d always watch it. It’s part of being Irish.” 

Katelyn had to move to Dublin to take part in the dance competition, meaning she had to put her apprenticeship on hold for the time being. Her employer has been supportive, she tells me. “Just an incredible support to me and has been there for me in every way.” Rehearsals for the competition started in early December. “There has just been so much fun every week”, says Katelyn.

“There are new friendships being formed with the other celebrities that are involved in the show.

“I can't thank my pro dance partner Leonardo [Lini] for everything that he does because he's just phenomenal and he's making me shine in ways that I never thought I could.” The training is strenuous though. “I went home at Christmas time. We had a week off and I could hardly bend over, my ribs felt black and blue, except there was nothing showing on the outside, so everybody thought I was just being so dramatic.

“I think I have aged six or seven years”, she jokes.

Katelyn Cummins was announced as one of the first headline speakers at the 2026 I Wish festival.

Taking place on 5 February 2026 at the RDS Dublin, the I Wish festival is dedicated to promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) to teenage girls.

As a female electrician in a male-dominated sphere, Katelyn has consistently used her platform to champion STEM routes into engineering and construction-related careers for young girls.

Katelyn calls the festival “amazing”. She continues: “It's creating the awareness for careers in STEM for young girls who might not have had the opportunities to learn about them in school.

“I didn't have really that kind of experience in school. It wasn't made known to girls in secondary school that those careers were available for us, as well as the lads, and I'm really, really delighted that these events are popping up.” Katelyn welcomes the opportunity to talk to girls about her experiences and let them know that there are different ways of getting into STEM.

The reigning Rose has also spoken about being a successful woman who wears a hearing aid.

“I've never really thought that my disability would stop me from ever doing anything,” she says.

“My parents were a massive part of that. My disability has never affected anything that I've done in life, and then I went to a public mainstream school, and I've never felt any different to any other person.” 

Kateyln’s family is so proud. “I think it really has brought my family closer together this year. We spend so much time apart, I'm never really at home anymore, but sharing all these experiences together, and they get to tell everybody about those things as well and be part of them, it's incredibly special.” When her Dancing with the Stars run ends, and she hands back the feted Rose of Tralee sash, Katelyn would love to return to her apprenticeship and finish out her degree.

“Then I would love to do some traveling for two or three years, across America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I absolutely love traveling and it's such a big passion.”