“The young women involved are exceptional people, they are independent obviously, and it would be a bit silly to expect that they wouldn’t have opinions, controversial or otherwise, on different things,”

One of Ireland’s oldest festivals is set to become even bigger, and a week-long affair.

The Rose of Tralee Festival will soon have its own headquarters, thanks to the parents of a deceased Rose contestant.

The Rose of Tralee contest judges, headed by RTÉ’s Mary Kennedy, knew the winner, Maria Walsh, was gay.

Rose of Tralee organisers were unaware during the judging process that the 56th Rose, Maria Walsh, was gay, it emerged yesterday.

The Rose of Tralee International Festival has dismissed suggestions it is sectarian after a Church of Ireland rector said his church has been overlooked to hold a service for the contestants during the annual event.

IT was the worst nightmare imaginable for tens of thousands of online Rose of Tralee viewers, a dramatic twist RTÉ’s soap writers could only dream of thinking up.

THE Kerry footballers and last year’s All-Ireland champions suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Down, at the weekend, but the Rose of Tralee contest could yet provide some consolation for the Kingdom.

DÁITHÍ O SÉ, best known for his work as a presenter and weatherman with Irish language station TG4, is the new Rose of Tralee host.

TODAY FM presenter Ray D’Arcy has decided to step down as presenter of the Rose of Tralee.

THE 50th anniversary of the Rose of Tralee International Festival is expected to be the biggest and best to date with more beautiful contestants than ever before.

GARDAÍ in Tralee yesterday appealed for assistance with their investigations into an alleged sexual assault in the town.

JOSTLING and shuffling like excited schoolboys ahead of a debs night, 31 nervous Rose of Tralee escorts formed a guard-of-honour of sorts to welcome their Roses to the Fels Point Hotel — and many to Tralee for the first time.

ROSE of Tralee bosses last night judged the festival a roaring success after taking a gamble on switching the spectacular to a new home.

BUSINESSES in Tralee were yesterday urged to dig deep to help lure the crowds to the town for the Rose of Tralee Festival, in August.

BOOKMAKERS yesterday dismissed radio speculation over irregular betting amid claims the Rose of Tralee winner’s name was leaked ahead of the contest result.

The international contestants in this year’s Rose of Tralee festival got a perfect introduction to Irish weather today as they attended their first event.

THE first roses of summer have been spotted in Dublin but it won’t be long before they’re cultivated in front of a bigger audience in Tralee.

A NUMBER of disgruntled Rose of Tralee fundraising committees have severed links with the Kerry festival company in a protest over its fiscal restructuring.

A MAJOR drive to raise €250,000 is to be launched by the Rose of Tralee Festival in January.

IF it was protection from men in uniform they wanted, the 28 Rose of Tralee contestants could feel very secure during the weekend.

AFTER surviving a financial crisis that threatened its future, the Rose of Tralee Festival will go ahead in late August.

RISING RTÉ star Ryan Tubridy will compere the Rose of Tralee selection again this year, as part of a revamped festival.

REPORTS that the Rose of Tralee Festival is about to go into liquidation were dismissed last night.

THE cash-starved Rose of Tralee Festival is ready to make a fresh start and its future is now secure, the organisers said last night.

LAST-MINUTE pledges of up to €200,000 from local and national businesses helped rescue the crisis-ridden Rose of Tralee Festival yesterday.