So who’ll be crowned 56th Rose? Don’t ask Daithí

Rose of Tralee host Dáithí Ó Sé has given gamblers intent on risking their hard-earned cash by trying to predict this year’s winner the best inside tip they will get: Don’t ask him.

Speaking on the eve of the 56th instalment of the contest, the five-time host insisted he is as in the dark about the winner as everyone else.

Last year, an early version of the winner’s tiara shown on the Monday night had the name “O’Sullivan” etched onto it — leading to conspiracies that Texas rose Hayley O’Sullivan’s win, and those of 54 Roses before her, were not as last-minute as they seemed.

However, speaking about what to expect during the live shows tonight and tomorrow, Ó Sé said the issue was simply a bizarre misunderstanding as the stand-in silverware was produced by a jeweller with the same second name.

Ó Sé said he will happily mislead any gamblers who persist in attempting to pry the top secret information out of him or festival judges — for the simple reason they just don’t know.

He recalls: “I was on the judging panel before [in 2009] and this fella I knew was texting me who would win, he swore black and blue he wouldn’t tell anyone, so I said Tokyo.

“About 45 minutes later, he was calling me everything under the sun. He’d left the ninth hole of a golf course and then found out there was no Tokyo Rose.”

While Ó Sé insists he cannot predict the winner, he has dropped a few hints about what to expect this year.

After their on-air engagement — which involved 11 “no’s” before, thankfully, a final “yes” — last year, 2013’s New Orleans Rose Molly Molloy Gambel and new husband Kyle Catlett will return to share their story of what happened next.

A potential “ice bucket challenge”, a charity concept involving a toe-curling ice bath, could await the host after he was nominated by his mother-in-law — he still insists they have a “good relationship” — while one Rose’s father may steal the show: He can “do doughnuts in his wheelchair”.

A Rose with what is effectively a homemade zoo on a par with the contents of Noah’s Ark is also set to grab attention. She owns four dogs, two cats, a rabbit, a fish, sheep, and a lamb.

However, of most interest to those who enjoy the contest as much for kitsch controversy as the event itself will be an extended live backstage show, which plans to screen the festival without its glamour.

The half-hour “interactive” Live From The Red Room programme, to be hosted by Aidan Power, will air on RTÉ Digital during the news break at 9pm.

But while Power said he will “reflect the public’s opinions”, he stressed this will not mean giving time to needlessly critical internet “trolls” — perhaps a wise move considering the Dubliner will have to spend at least one more day surrounded by 200,000 festival revellers after tonight’s debut.