The Rose of Tralee changes but it does so slowly and largely just by reflecting the lives of the participants
Donegal Rose Niamh Shevlin on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU as compere Dáithí Ó Sé looks on during the Rose of Tralee International Festival in Kerry. Phograph: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus Ltd
Electric Picnic 2024 highs and lows: Kylie has an ‘absolute moment’, drink-laden plastic-cup missilesSicily yacht sinking: One dead and six missing including British tech tycoon with Irish roots“Usually by the time yer man is singing the second verse of the Rose of Tralee I’m drinking,” says Ó Sé. “I think I had a few pints before we were off air one year. Last night the ice was for my knee” – he recently injured his knee – “tonight the ice is for the white wine”.
In a ballroom in the Meadowlands Hotel, the Roses, their families and their selection committees eat lunch and take part in a table quiz. At one point they’re competing to see who can dance most enthusiastically to Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! . They hold champagne flutes aloft, wave napkins and whoop. One man is standing on a chair doing a suggestive arse wiggle. Eventually the judge’s team, Don’t Judge Us, wins the whole quiz and they do an extravagant victory dance for many minutes.
When he was receiving the award on Monday night, he forgot to turn his phone off and it started buzzing with messages while on stage.Dublin Rose, Casey Harris, tells me about her tattoos. She has a tattoo of a diamond because her mother calls her “a little diamond”. There’s a tattoo featuring the handwriting of her aunt who died of breast cancer. There are the words “be safe” because that’s what her mother always says to her before she goes anywhere.
“Someone just said I’m the youngest Rose ever but I’m not sure about that,” she says. Veteran volunteer Ger Dillane names younger Roses from previous years. She laughs. “Thanks Ger, for taking that away from me.”
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