Dáithí Ó Sé has revealed what judges are really looking for when selecting the Rose of Tralee – and it’s not faults or mistakes.
The long-serving host and former judge said the competition often comes down to the “little flairs” that emerge during an interview, with very little separating the contestants.
He now shares hosting duties with Kathryn Thomas, who joined the show as co-host in 2023.
Having first joined the judging panel in 2008 before serving as its chairperson in 2009, Ó Sé said his experience gave him a very different perspective on the festival.
“It’s strange because you are almost looking for faults when you are judging anything, but with this we’re not. It’s totally different,” he explained. “We’re just looking for these little flairs that pop up every now and then.”
He also played down the role of the televised programme in the judges’ decision, saying the TV element is only a small part of the overall competition.
Reflecting on his time on the panel in 2009, Ó Sé recalled just how difficult it can be to make the final decision, revealing that the judges had still not selected a winner shortly before the announcement was due to be made.
“We were under the stage before the band got on and they still hadn’t the Rose of Tralee picked, and it was down to two people and there was five of us there.”
Dáithí Ó Sé co-hosts the Rose of Tralee with Kathryn Thomas
Ó Sé said he eventually had to push the panel to make a decision.
“I was the person that had to say, ‘Lads, we have to pull the trigger, we have to pick one’. It’s a very, very hard job.”
And while he has spent years hosting the festival, Ó Sé admitted that being on the judging panel is the tougher role.
“Hosting the Rose of Tralee is far easier than being a judge because they [the Roses] are all up there, but it’s just those little things that might happen in an interview when they are talking and they match a judge’s eye, that little flair – that’s the difference and the margins are tiny.”
Ó Sé said he always looks forward to the festival, with the Kerry man saying it is great to be back on home turf.
“It’s one of the best gigs of the year, even though I was on Up for the Match a few weeks ago! This is something I look forward to every year. It’s a great show to be on. I’m on home territory doing it as well, which is always good. Any time you can show off Kerry and Tralee is always a good day. I’m excited about it again this year.”
The Rose of Tralee airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Monday 17 August and Tuesday 18 August from 8pm
For Ó Sé, it’s all about forming a connection early on with the Roses and making sure they feel comfortable.
“You can learn off everything you want to about the Roses, but if you don’t take the time to go down the path of connection and take the time to sit down and talk to them face to face, and shoot the breeze with them, you won’t gain their trust,” he said.
“I’ve said to all of them, ‘Whatever you say here is in confidence’. And there’s certain things that Roses don’t want to talk about for particular reasons and there’s some things they do want to talk about.”
He continued: “So I tell them I’m going to ask all the personal questions and I’m not being nosey; I’m getting this information that will be between me and you. I want them to walk out on stage and not think, ‘Oh, crap, is he going to ask me this?’ I want to take that off the table altogether, and then that’s one less thing for them to worry about going out on stage.”
“I am the least important person inside there,” Ó Sé added.
“It’s about them and their family and the people that are there with them, and when you frame it up in my mind, that takes the pressure off me too.”
The Rose of Tralee airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Monday 17 August and Tuesday 18 August from 8pm.
Read more: Kathryn Thomas says Rose of Tralee criticism is ‘boring’ and ‘lazy’
Rose of Tralee: Meet this year’s Roses
Dublin Rose: ‘The love and support have been way louder’
Monaghan Rose Leah Murphy to honour late Rose aunt in Tralee