Race is on for best Rose of the bunch

SNAKES on stage, a fist in the gob, and the return of Gaybo – the Rose of Tralee celebrates half a century next week and promises to celebrate the milestone in style.

A bunch of Roses were on display at RTÉ in Donnybrook yesterday ahead of this year’s festival, which will be hosted for the fifth year in succession by Ray D’Arcy.

For the first time, 50 Roses from various corners of the world are in contention, although this number will be whittled down to 32 by the time the contestants appear before the TV cameras on Tuesday night.