Rose of Tralee is still all about judging young Irishwomen

I almost found myself not wanting the Philip Tracey-designed crown to be taken from Maria Walsh, writes Alison O’Connor

I’M WATCHING the Rose of Tralee with a group of small girls, ranging in age from five to nine years. There is great excitement. During the break for the news and weather they disappear upstairs and come down a few minutes later wearing dresses so we stage our own mock contest. It’s all going swimmingly and rather charmingly until our oldest Rose contestant, the nine-year-old, announces to “Dáithí” that she does work for a suicide charity because her sister committed suicide a few years ago.

Gulp. Luckily the real programme comes back on and we settle down again on the sofas to begin the countdown to the moment when we discover which of the 32 Roses is the most lovely and fair, with just the right amount of truth in her eyes.