Roses safe as houses with help from the boys in blue

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

Not only are three of the escorts members of the armed forces, the naval patrol vessel, Le Niamh, was berthed in Fenit, and the Roses were guests of Lieut Commander Jim Shalloo and his officers.

On Saturday, they attended an on-the-ground display by the Air Corps, at Kerry Airport, and some tested the seats of the Government jet for comfort.

They were also presented with replicas of pilots’ silver wings by Brigadier General Ralph James, the officer commanding the Air Corps.

Hundreds of people attended the display, with the beaming Roses enjoying celebrity status, signing autographs and posing for photographs with admiring little girls.

Ulster Rose Michaela Harte, 20, was willing to talk football with everyone she met. She’s the daughter of Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte.

“I’ve been to Kerry to matches and what I know of the county has come mainly through football. But it’s my first time at the Rose of Tralee Festival and I’m really having a ball already,” she said.

The striking New York Rose, Elizabeth Kee, 25, who has appeared in a number of TV programmes stateside, is also popular and she is the bookies’ early favourite at odds of 4/1, followed closely by Caitlin Lowry, 18, of Texas, and Dublin’s Joanna Cullen, 20.

Gardaí had no serious assaults, or other incidents, to report and said crime was down to about half the levels experienced in previous years.

Just over 30 arrests, mainly for drink-related offences, were recorded during the weekend.

There was a big turnout for the colourful opening parade and Inspector Martin McCarthy said crowds appeared to more family-orientated.

The two-night selection programme, with Ryan Tubridy as compere, gets underway tonight and the first Rose to be interviewed will be England’s Angela Crowley, 22. Fourteen will be on stage each night.

Meanwhile, the identify of the four investors who, along with festival managing director Anthony O’Gara put up €350,000 to save the event earlier this year, has been disclosed.

They are: Ciarán Desmond, a commercial lawyer in Cork City; John McCarthy, an accountant living in Tralee; Limerick man Maurice Quaid, who operates a food distribution business in the south east, and Michael Quaid, an accountant, who is from Limerick and resides in Cork.

None had any previous involvement with the festival and Mr O’Gara said their primary motivation was to save what they saw as an important event as each of them had Kerry connections.

He said they were also interested in a return on their investment, in the longer term, and accepted it would take three to five years to put a development plan in place.