Rose of Tralee Night Two: 'We need festivals to celebrate women. We need these spaces'

Limerick Rose Leah McMahon on stage at the Kerry Sports Academy, MTU, with Kathryn Thomas during the Rose of Tralee International Festival TV Rose Selection night this Tuesday. Picture: Domnick Walsh

Just when the Rose of Tralee appeared to have finally shed its image of a Father Ted parody centred around a fictional Lovely Girls competition, RTÉ’s Kathryn Thomas revived it all over again.

The co-presenter of this year’s second of two selection nights asked the Limerick Rose what she thought about critics of the contest who label it a “beauty pageant” or a “lovely girls competition”.