SHANE BYRNE shared his pride as he watched daughter Kerry represent Wicklow in The Rose of Tralee. The annual glitzy showpiece returned to RTE screens on Monday night . Watching on in the crowd was Shane, a former Ireland as well as Leinster hooker.
Ahead of seeing Kerry make her bow he was proud as punch and tweeted a photo of her in a beautiful dress. It was captioned: "#RoseOfTralee Coming soon!! #ProudDad" The 21-year-old spoke to RSVP Live earlier this week about the normalcy of having an abnormally famous parent. She noted simply: “He’s always been our dad, and who he is has been that way our whole life.
"I’m so used to it. I’m going to joke that people can pay a tenner for a photo with him, so I’ll make a little bit of money!” Kerry, who has a twin sister named Alex, added that Shane has been able to give invaluable advice on how to deal with any negative feedback that does unfortunately come with any public spotlight. Recalling his advice, she added: “He told me if there are any really negative comments, to have a really good answer to put them back in their place.
"Or just smile and walk away and to always put up a nice front.” Last year's edition of the famed contest was the first time it ever had a co-host as Kathryn Thomas joined Daithi O'Se in leading proceedings. Prior to the 2024 version kicking off, Daithi spoke to SunShowbiz about how they continue to tweak its format to keep it as fresh as possible.
O'Se, who has chaired things since 2010, revealed how he’s been chipping in with suggestions to improve the show since first getting the job. He told The Irish Sun on Sunday: “Even all the ice baths, that was all my idea, you know? You have to. “That’s what has worked for me from day one.
When I started doing this, it’s kind of like, ‘I’m going to make this so good that they can’t take me off it’. FOOTBALL legends Tony Cascarino, Stuart Pearce, Andy Reid and Neil O'Riordan will join The Irish Sun’s first live football preview event on Tuesday September 3 ahead of the Republic of Ireland v England match in The Aviva that weekend. Goals Live 2024, in association with TonyBet and hosted by well-known sports commentator Dave McIntyre, promises to be an evening of entertainment, discussion, analysis and lively debate as the panel delves into the upcoming big match between football rivals the Republic of Ireland and England.
The event, which is for over 18s only, will take place in The Camden, Dublin 2, from 6.15pm – 9pm. The ticket includes a complimentary drink for attendees and each ticketholder will be entered into a draw for a chance to win a pair of match tickets to the big game in the Aviva on Saturday September 7.
Tickets are just €5 and available to purchase HERE . “Yeah, I’ve no problem saying it, so it kept me on my toes all the time and it’s certainly got the best of me going, ‘No f * ***** way is anyone else getting this gig’.” Before he was the host, back in 2009, Daithi was the chair of the Rose of Tralee judging panel.
And he admitted they couldn’t pick a winner until the very last moment. He explained: “ Paddy Power or BoyleSports, they have a book open, before all the judges even meet the first Rose sometimes, they have an opinion formed, which is really funny. "So it’s down to four judges, four people.
They could have four different people picked. “The stage part is only a small part of the judging, too, it’s important to say that. “I remember when I was doing it in 2009, the last Rose had come off the stage on Tuesday night.
"There was an ad break, there was a band playing, and we still hadn’t the Rose of Tralee picked, and we were giving a name in five minutes. “We had it down to two people, we were watching two people and the other person we were looking at was one of the last few people on stage. "So we had to go off and have a chat and say, ‘OK, who is it now?’ “I’ll never forget it.
We came to an agreement, and we gave the name, and that was that. "So, it went down to the wire. That’s a true story, that’s not a makey-up bulls*** story.
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