Not enough of this stuff on TV, bring back the Calor Kosangas house wife of the year. Those women knew their way around the kitchen. Savage.

havnt looked at these pages for ages as it full of bitter twisted sad little people…and now ye are dismantling the rose of tralee…wow….if the doubters had an original thought in their heads i might pay attention….tralee is an amazing town…jackie healy ray isnt from tralee and ye are jealous that yer own towns havnt the brains and commitment to have an internationally successful of yer own…..kisses….x…

look at them there walking….doesnt mary have a lovely bottom….of course, they all have lovely bottoms

Not one of them mentioned world peace. That’s just not cricket baby…

The Hipster of Foxrock Festival will be on TV3 this Autumn.

The Rose of Tralee should have ended with that other antiquity ( tho very good in his day) Gay Byrned ;-) , it’s now just an embarrassment and Daithi fits the bill perfectly. It’s only short of having an interlude of short poems read by Jackie Healy-Rea.

Kerry gives you The Rose of Tralee, Dublin gives you Tallafornication

Cringe for the guy who won Best Escort; thanking his mammy for giving him his ‘rose pack’!

A real toe-curler.

Last year we had the first Hip-Hop Rose. This year we have the first Rose doing an impersonation of a blow up doll. “Lovely Girls” being touted as the embodiment of femininity and supposed intelligence. How did the hang sangwidge makin’ round go?

Jaysus, it’s great being a woman in the 21st century!

seriously the parent who said that they would view themselves a a failure if their daughter was a rose….is it a failure for you daughter to be a doctor;a teacher;a special needs carer;an entrepreneur?..nearly all the roses have doctorates for crying out loud..and fyi when the camera pans to the parents of the rose on the stage are they embarrassed…?…no they are welling up with pride…so in all fairness…get a grip…

Noticed that the shot of Phyllis Diller looks remarkably similar to the one of the Kilkenny Rose doing the dolphin squeal.
Ill be sending that bird a dry cleaning bill as she made the dog piss with fright on the cowskin couch cover.

Tongue in cheek I presume Conor ?

Since the original idea percolated among young men at the CYMS in Tralee in 1955 and was later tentatively presented in an effort to enliven the town during Tralee Races the results for civic pride, the economy, the overseas diaspora and tourism has been a success beyond the expectations of that small group of young men, now all in their mid and late seventies, and indeed some of them deceased. The number of entries that first year were few and the very first Rose, not on the official roster, still remains my favorite since she had the courage to do for her home town what needed to be done in the midst of mid century Ireland, which still had a nineteenth century economy.

The “knockers” have always existed and as is their wont most particularly anonymously since the most odious vitriol comes from the smallest minds hiding behind their masks of anonymity. Therefore their criticisms are of not the remotest value. The Festival is there to be enjoyed or ignored as your taste dictates. If you think you can do better by all means do what those young men did so long ago and do for your town what the people of Tralee have done and I , as a proud native of the town, resident in Pennsylvania for fifty years will be delighted to applaud you.

The Rose of Tralee International Festival is one of Ireland’s largest and longest running festivals, it celebrated 50 years in 2009. The heart of the festival is the selection of the Rose of Tralee which brings young women of Irish descent from around the world to Kerry for a global celebration of Irish culture however it also includes street entertainment, carnival, free live concerts, theatre, circus, markets, funfair, fireworks and internationally renowned Rose Parade and Rose Ball and fashion shows. The number of Rose centres around the world have now grown to over 70 so a regional final is also held in Portlaoise to
Pick the final 32. This festival has grown and grown in strength and popularity despite all the begrudges and narrow minded people out there. I think for those of you criticising it you need to experience it first hand before you go making judgment. Wether you like it or not this is Irish tradition, culture and heritage at its best. As a nation we should all be proud of our “irishness” rather than looking for opportunities to destroy it.

Heard ya the second time

Jayzus. If I had a daughter who grew up and wanted to be a rose of Tralee I’d concider myself a failure as a parent. The whole thing is a mockery.

we mock ourselves as a nation with toss like the Rose of Tralee. “Ah sure aren’t we a grand little country with our silly little festivals and the girls love the novelty of the leprachaun country” …most of the foreigners in it will probably never step foot here again. This and the “All Ireland Talent Show” .. we don’t do ourselves any favors

Get involved with the festival or talk to someone that is,then have an opinion on it. It is far bigger than two nights in Tralee, the craic is brilliant, all the girls are extremely accomplished in different areas of their lives and you will meet some of the nicest most genuine people that you will have met in a long time.

Stand up there now and let us all have a look at ye, sure aren’t ye just lovely altogether! and ye can dance and play the harp and fiddle, and your father is a banker, I suppose that’s where you got the fiddlin’ from, sure your great, what’s that ? you can sing Danny Boy, is there no end to your talent bejaysis. Your pet collie, once saved your little brother who fellow down a well, by barking at a policeman. Well I’ll be a monkeys uncle, sure you’ve got it in the bag.

I personally cannot wait for the most ” Downtrodden Granny” competition whoo hooo!

Not Phyllis Diller. no point sending bills to dead folk.

rose is a great festival, and i am from tralee, but,,,,, went to the fashion show, dressed up, heels high , looking good, pulled out the old mg, parked and could not get out of car park, big stones and heels dont go,, but i was lucky i did not go down, i watched one young lady go down 2 bloody knees, one old lady twist her ankle,, i would not go again in heels and would advise all to do same, was dangerous to any lady in heels, i would recommend a taxi, which will cost a fortune as traffic should have been one way system, they were driving on the footpath, but i have to say the dome was stupendous and the show out of this world,, if one could just get there in one piece

Oh My God, Ditch the Rose….it is soooo cheesy and outdated……

A great festival. Long may it continue!

Aren’t they Lovely specimens of female pulchritude, as they flock together to see who is the “loveliest” of all. We have this repeated all over the country with the likes of The Mary from Dungloe Pageant. The male escorts are as guilty as the contestants in perpetuating this sham

The standard formula for increased viewership is:
Tits
Tots
Pets
As every successful broadcaster knows.

Hi Fiona B. P
Point taken, I am not here to persuade anyone to change their perception, that must come from within. These are merely my observations.