In her role as Genealogy Butler to the Shelbourne Hotel, Helen Kelly participated in a New Zealand breakfast TV programme on Irish ancestry in June 2008. The programme arose as a result of a competition sponsored by Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Air New Zealand and Television New Zealand. From the 2,000 entrants to the competition, the granddaughter of a County Tyrone emigrant was declared the winner, and the prize was a trip to Ireland. As part of the prize, the winner and her husband had a two night stay at the Shelbourne Renaissance Hotel where she met with the Genealogy Butle Helen Kelly to discuss her Irish ancestry.