Beauties and a beast among first bunch

At last! At last! We can say it without fear of retribution!

The Rose of Tralee festival suffered the first official mad cow in its history last night, after the mystery live TV highlight of the Monday show had to be pulled moments before going on air.

In the lead-up to the Nine O’Clock News break, RTÉ bosses planned to sneak a milking cow into the festival dome in a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ottawa rose Avaleigh Eastman’s farming background.