GAY Byrne has stepped down as host of the annual Rose of Tralee contest after meetings with the RTE board of directors and festival organisers.
Mr Byrne said he had enjoyed his "sojourn with Tralee" but after an operation last August decided it was time to end his 17 year term as master of ceremonies.
"Shortly after the operation, Kay and I were on our way for a break in Kenmare and as we were driving through Portlaoise I said: `Kay, I don't think I'll do the Rose of Tralee again'. Kay said that was a very good idea and that was all we said about it," Mr Byrne said yesterday.
Host of The Late Late Show and a morning radio show on RTE, Mr Byrne said he told the RTE board of management last October that he would not be hosting the competition again.
The organisers of the Rose of Tralee asked him to reconsider his decision.
"I thought about it again but I feel it is time to go. I have done it for I do not know how many years and I think it is time to say tooraloo to Tralee," said Mr Byrne.
He added that he had enjoyed his time at the festival but found it was a week of difficult work. "I am very proud it was Adrian Cronin and myself that first brought it to the screen.
The 1996 Rose of Tralee festival will be the 38th, and Mr Byrne will become a member of the judging panel.
He said there was a long queue of people willing to succeed him; Derek Davis was "likely in the running" following his success last year when he stood in for Mr Byrne.
The director of television programmes at RTE, Mr Liam Miller, said Mr Byrne made an enormous contribution to the incredible success of the Rose of Tralee". Over one million viewers watched the competition each year, and the total peaked at 1.4 million.
Mr Millar said the contest would remain an important part of the RTE summer schedule and an experienced, professional and popular broadcaster was required to replace Mr Byrne.
He said Mr Davis did "a fantastic job and got a great reception" for his presentation last summer and he was one among a small group RTE would consider.
The president of the Rose of Tralee festival, Mr Seamus O'Halloran, said the organisers "just had to accept" that Mr Byrne had stepped down for personal and professional reasons, adding that the successor was a matter for RTE.