Irish Examiner view: Is cancelled festival a fading rose?

Limerick Rose Sinead Flanagan, a 27-year-old junior doctor, was the 2019 winner.

At this stage of the pandemic, and as growing anger over crowds socialising on city streets confirms, it would have been more than surprising if this year’s Rose of Tralee Festival was to go ahead.

Indeed, it might have been more newsworthy had the organisers announced that it would be business, and novelty acts, as usual in the dome in Tralee. 

The Rose festival once had a social significance but its focus has been commercial for many years now, with the loudest complaints about its cancellation bemoaning the adverse effect on Kerry tourism.

The concept and criteria have come under scrutiny in recent times and seem increasingly outdated. That the green tinge in Irish America’s blood is fading adds to those doubts, even if it is just some lighthearted fun among consenting adults. 

That 653,500 viewers tuned in to see Limerick Rose Sinead Flanagan lift the crown in 2019 shows that there is still interest, despite the idea behind the pageant being so dated.

After two years without, will there be a clamour for its return in 2022?