Located in the Rose Garden at Tralee Town Park, County Kerry, in Ireland, and featuring more than 35 varieties of roses, the Rose of Tralee Statue, encircled by a glass Rose Wall, created by Jeanne Rynhart, is a tribute to the original Rose of Tralee, Mary O'Connor, along with her beloved, the poet and composer William Pembroke Mulchinock, who later wrote a ballad about his forbidden love with Mary, the maid of the family, who was known as the Rose of Tralee for her physical beauty, but could not marry her due to social differences, and went abroad. Unfortunately, he was heartbroken on his return, when he discovered that by that time, Mary had passed away from consumption. Later, he married another woman, but never forgot his one true love and wrote the ballad in her honour, and was eventually buried beside Mary in a graveyard just outside Tralee.

Born in Dublin on 17 March 1946, Jeanne Patricia Rynhart moved to England after completing her graduation in 1969, and continued her studies in fine art, sharing a studio with sculptor John Letts. However, she returned to Ireland in 1981, settled in Ballylickey, a village in County Cock, where she established the Rynhart Fine Art gallery and workshop. Her bronze sculpture, representing Molly Malone, a young woman, fashioned in her traditional 17th century dress, selling seafood such as Mussels, on the street, was selected by the Dublin Millennium Board from a number of other entries, which has since become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Dublin and is fondly regarded by locals. Jeanne Rynhart died on 9 June 2020, at the age of 74, in Schull Community Hospital, Cork, following a short illness, and was buried in the Abbey Cemetery, Bantry.

The romantic love story depicted in the ballad is credited with inspiring the inception of the International Rose of Tralee Festival, an annual event held in Tralee, County Kerry. In 2009, and the Tralee Town Council commissioned the life-sized bronze statue known as the Rose of Tralee Statue to commemorate the festival's 50th anniversary. The statue, crafted by Jeanne Rynhart, was placed in the centre of the Rose Garden, featuring 35 different types of roses, while a glass wall surrounding the statue displays the names of all the Roses who have taken part in the festival, along with the history and lyrics of the ballad. The statue, installed as a tribute to Mary O'Connor and William Pembroke Mulchinock, now stands proudly in the Rose Garden as a symbol of love, history, and heritage, and is cherished by both locals and visitors as a notable landmark.