Banana song is pick of the Roses bunch
The only time that sentence could make any sense would be during the Rose of Tralee.
The first of the live TV broadcasts of the annual festival kicked off in style last night as presenter Daithí “clichés off-the-cuff” O’Sé put the initial pick of this year’s rose bunch at ease.
As he did, the stage became cluttered with the unique imagery only this particular brand of Irishness can conjure — including an odd sliced-off Sesame Street character’s head.
Breaking the grim news to kids and adults alike, the show’s first contestant — Philadelphia Rose, Beth Keeley — confirmed that, during her first job at the US hit’s theme park, Bert’s skull had a quickie divorce from his body when the puppet fell in front of the crowd. Ernie is believed to have been given consular assistance.
“Elmo wasn’t the kindest either,” she added of the puppet-skeleton-in-the-closet moment. “The puppet is loveable, but the person behind it? He was a diva.”
Philadelphia — who also forced an ex-boyfriend to take a sky-dive which caused him to black out and vomit with fear when his first parachute became tangled (understandably, they broke up soon after) — was followed by Ottawa Rose, Kate Scott.
After the 22-year-old informed Daithí of her Tyrone roots and said her supporters were at the back of the Dome, the proud Kerryman made a nod to the counties recent GAA battles. “Keep them there,” he muttered.
Among other roses to bloom last night were Cork’s Kathryn Brennan, Texan Danielle Ybama and New Yorker Erin Loughran — whose elderly grannies seem to have taken a more than passing interest in Daithí — Sunderland’s Niamh “banana song” O’Connell and Toronto’s Aileen Doyle.
Aileen declined to tell Daithí about the letter her boyfriend left in her Rose of Tralee bag, but the host responded: “Sure I’ve been through your stuff earlier. It says: ‘I love you, please don’t run off with the escort’.”
The unique mix of Irish roots and foreign influence was further underlined by Edmonton’s Tara Keigher and Tipperary’s Noirín Ryan.
The former did a memorable Irish dance to electro music and admitted she is on the look-out for an Irish man, while the latter is Tipperary hurling boss Declan Ryan’s sister.
While the Rose of Tralee will always have its detractors, beneath the style that can be politely described as “quirky” is a determination to keep the links with descendants of Irish emigrants alive.
Considering the recession-induced flood of young people to new opportunities abroad, this, explained Daithí, is a key point to make — now more than ever.
* Peter Sands, 25, has been named Escort of the Year. The teacher from Co Antrim, who is looking after New Zealand Rose Ailbhe Ryan, has won flying lessons with the Pilot Training College.
