The professional photographer is keen to do her bit to promote her heritage at the New Zealand Rose of Tralee Festival in Invercargill on May 25.
Originally from Killarney, County Kerry, Ms Ni Chathasaigh has been living and working in Wanaka for the past 18 months.
She decided to give the Irish festival a crack after her aunty, who works in London’s Irish Centre, encouraged her to apply.
"It is a really positive thing to do. There are people with Irish heritage all over the world. Especially in New Zealand there are loads of Irish and I want to do my bit to promote it," Ms Chathasaigh said.
Like many Central Otago immigrants, Ms Chathasaigh was drawn to Wanaka because of the mountains and hiking.
After she left school, she spent about 18 months exploring Canada before returning to Cork to study photography at St John’s College for two years.
The mountains kept calling, so she chose Wanaka to explore next and applied online for a job with Alpine Images, using a working holiday visa.
She has since obtained a two-year working visa and would like to continue working towards her resident’s visa.
Her lifestyle here is not too dissimilar to the life she led growing up near her local mountain, Carrauntoohil, the country’s tallest at 1038m.
"The mountains are not as spectacular as around here ... but I was photographing an Irish couple getting married recently on Mt Coromandel [ 1196m], saying the landscape felt a bit like Killarney ... And Wanaka does feel like home for me too," she said.
Entering the Rose of Tralee was about keeping alive her Irish culture and language.
She loves Irish music. She grew up in a musical family, plays the fiddle and back home she enjoyed performing and playing in traditional groups.
"You can have nothing in common with people in the room but if you can play an instrument, you can all play something and it creates a lovely atmosphere . . . and at the end of a night, a sing-song is really popular with families and with friends.
"I went back in November for my dad’s 50th and my grandad was singing and in really good form. Just seeing all the generations participating, it is amazing. That is one thing I do miss, is the culture. It [Wanaka] has everything else, the scenery and everything . . . but music is something I would like to do a bit more."
To be selected as Central Otago’s Rose of Tralee representative, she applied online and was interviewed by the Irish Society in Invercargill.
The New Zealand Rose of Tralee Ball will be held in Invercargill on May 25 at the Ascot Hotel.
There will also be a cocktail evening, a dinner, interviews and Ms Chathasaigh will be playing her fiddle at Waxy’s Irish Pub.
NZ Rose of Tralee entrants also fundraise for Youthline’s Walk the Talk programme, advocating for youth mental health and crisis intervention.
To support the cause, Ms Chathasaigh has begun taking a cold water dip every day in May.
The 2024 international Rose of Tralee ambassador will be selected at a festival in Tralee in August.
