There's one for every county, but only six of the 32 Roses taking part in this year's Festival of Kerry actually represent Irish counties. And only one comes from the "Six Counties", which, along with Monaghan, Cavan, and Donegal, are all represented by the magnanimous Ulster Rose, Lucia Cleary (22) from Belleek, Co Fermanagh. Of the others, six are from Australia, eight are from the US, six are from the UK (not including Lucia Cleary) and one each from Canada, New Zealand, France, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. But it was like the ball without the prince at the Guinness reception to introduce the Roses yesterday. "Gaybo, Gaybo, wherefore art thou Gaybo?" wondered the multitude as he, without whom no Rose of Tralee festival would be complete, was nowhere to be seen. Then the Washington DC Rose, Jeanne Monahan, said: "O my God, I've been warned about him," and Gaybo had landed. Gay Byrne declared himself "utterly devastated" by the listening figures for Radio Ireland. He "loved John (McColgan) and Moya (Doherty), and Dick Hill, and John Caden." He would be sorely tempted, if he ruled Radio Ireland, to take harsh action, he said.
What he would do - and it would be "horribly brutal" and "extremely unpopular" - would be to fire most of the people at the station and switch to music all day every day. And Gay Byrne would cut out the news gathering service. "They don't have a bottomless bucket (of money)," he said.
That was not all. He went on to conjure up the image of the rough beast who could save Radio Ireland. What the station needed, he said, was a guy or girl, "a cross between Jonathan Philbin Bowman, that Evans loony, red haired guy (Chris Evans) and a bit of Anne Marie Hourihane".
"Someone outrageous", who would have people demanding that he or she be hung, drawn and quartered, and that the station be closed down, he continued. Someone whose head they (listeners) would want on a plate. Someone "who would outrage the mother of 10 in Ballymun" who, though she might be calling for murder, would be listening at least.
Today the Roses go to the Curragh races and then to Waterford for a big night tonight. Tomorrow they will visit Lismore Castle, en route to Tralee for the Rose Ball tomorrow night.
