One of Ireland’s largest and most recognisable festivals suitable for the whole family is the Rose of Tralee International Festival which takes place annually in the town of Tralee in County Kerry. Since its inception in 1959, the festival has aimed to connect the vast global Irish community through the process of selecting a Rose of Tralee each year. The 2014 festival takes place between the 15th and 19th August.
To be chosen as the Rose of Tralee, a woman must be so ‘lovely & fair as the Rose of the summer’ and who will act as an Ambassador for Tralee throughout the remainder of the year. The event attracts women of Irish descent and origin from across the globe to County Kerry to participate in this international celebration of Irish culture.
The whole event is one big celebration including street entertainment, carnival, live concerts, theatre, circus, markets, funfair, fireworks and the ever popular Rose Parade; all of which the whole family can enjoy and participate in.
The Rose of Tralee is one of Ireland’s longest running annual festivals since its inception in 1959 and it is estimated that well over five million people have made the trip to Ireland for the festival during those 54 years.
Televised in Ireland and streamed online around the world, the Rose of Tralee International Festival is more than a two-night television show but the TV programme, hosted by Dáithí Ó Sé, plays a key role in attracting people to the live events in Tralee town centre each year.
In 2013, a sizeable worldwide audience of close to 810,000 people tuned in to RTÉ to watch as Haley O’Sullivan, representing Texas, received the Rose of Tralee crown. Few festivals in the world that ties its diaspora together in the way that the Rose of Tralee International Festival does. With over 400 hours of entertainment planned throughout the festivals, it’s sure to the top of many fun lovers list’s of things to do.