Gaybo still a smash hit with Roses

GAY BYRNE is back on his old stomping ground in Tralee and yesterday nearly crashed his motorbike into the back of a bus.

But don’t worry folks – he’s unharmed.

The legendary broadcaster wasn’t behind the wheel of an actual motorcycle, luckily enough, but instead was trying out a simulator as part of a Road Safety Authority launch next to the Dome. His travails with the ‘bus’ sparked a fit of giggles from his wife Kathleen, who was looking on, although Gaybo did have ample reason for taking his eyes off the road as he was surrounded by some Rose contestants.

“How am I supposed to concentrate?” the former festival host exclaimed as he was enveloped by contestants from Darwin, Derby and Newcastle as he managed to avoid crashing into any more traffic. Having put the brakes on his virtual motorbike ride, Gay reflected on the changing nature of the Rose of Tralee, which he hosted for more than two decades.

“I was responsible for bringing the thing onto television,” he said. “I had done it for a few years, not on television, and then I thought ‘this will work on television’ and I convinced the boys in Montrose that it would work... and it has been a phenomenal success.”

He said the only hesitation he would have these days is that the festival appears to rely less on volunteerism from people in Tralee, and now functions more as a standalone business.

“Having been away for a few years and then coming back, what I’m picking up on is that it is beginning to drift away from the voluntary effort that it was, and the only thing which sustained the festival was the voluntary effort put in by the people in Tralee to give their services and their time. Indeed, most of them took their holidays to act as... stewards and patrons and chaperones.

“The more you move away from that and towards a business model I think the more you are easing towards it not being as successful as it was.”

He said he has no one single favourite memory, but enjoys being looked after and minded and cosseted and appreciating great hospitality and great friendship.