ROSE OF TRALEE: Proposal-free first night goes off without a hitch

Who could blame him? After spending three hours up close and personal with this year’s first 18-strong bunch of Rose of Tralee contestants, show host Dáithí Ó Sé was in desperate need of cooling down.

And, in keeping with tradition, the popular presenter took it to extremes, allowing colleagues to drown him with freezing water for a charity ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ for motor neuron disease. As the show opened, announcer Will Leahy pointedly noted that the dare — which has now been thrown down to ex-Rose of Tralee hosts Ryan Tubridy, Ray D’Arcy, and Marty Whelan, who presumably are already shivering in their shoes — involved “something about your mother-in-law wanting to inflict pain on you”.

Dáithí mumbled the issue is “a regular occurrence”.