Rose of Tralee hosts Kathryn Thomas and Dáithí Ó Sé have back at claims the festival is “outdated”.
The annual competition will return to our screens tonight, with 32 hopefuls vying for the crown.
The pageant has come under fire in recent years, as critics have called for more diversity and inclusion within the contest.
Responding to the criticism, Kathryn told RTÉ: “I think the Rose of Tralee has modernised with the times. I think it gets a bit of flack for maybe not being particularly relevant, but I think there has never been a more important time to have it.”
“We are celebrating 32 different women from across the globe, celebrating their achievements, their differences, and their confidence.”
“I read a line last night in one of the bios about the women and one of the women said, ‘I cannot wait to get to Ireland to meet all the other Roses who are going to be like me, powerful, confident and independent.'”
“And I just went, ‘When do we celebrate ourselves like that?’ It is very rare that you get women who say that about themselves, and about other women that they are going to be spending the next couple of weeks with you know.”
Similarly, Dáithí said he thinks the festival is “a powerful message about the strength of women”.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, the presenter said: “There are over 2,000 people in the Dome in Tralee and they’re in front of 700,000 or 800,000 people on live TV. “
“These days, with social media, they can have anything thrown at them and yet they’re strong enough to do it. The Rose of Tralee is a celebration of Irish women and of Irishness and neither one of those things will ever not be relevant.”
The Rose of Tralee airs tonight at 8pm on RTÉ One.
