Rose machine goes into overdrive as final nears

When you spot a Rose outside the Brandon Hotel in Tralee it's only polite to ask her how she's enjoying the festival - just make sure her jobsworth escort is out of earshot.

The New Orleans Rose, a friendly woman called Dorian Joye, was happy to chat yesterday afternoon but her escort had other ideas. "Could you make an enquiry at the media office?" he requested firmly of The Irish Times before whisking his charge away as though she were Kate Moss and we were the paparazzi.

Clearly all those handbag holding duties were taking their toll.

With New Orleans out of bounds there was nothing for it but to head over to the Brogue bar where the programme said the Australian Roses would be signing autographs for the public. It turned out the "Australian Roses" included New Zealand and Dubai, but as one Rose official explained "it's all the southern hemisphere anyway".

It was hard to get close to the Roses here too, swamped as they were by little girls wielding home-made autograph books. Maeve Lyons (9) from Tralee is something of a professional at this stage. She's been collecting Rose autographs for three years now. "I just really like them, they are nice," she said.

Echoing the sentiments of many men in Tralee this week her father said the Rose festival represented "the only time I can look at pretty young girls without fear of being arrested".

Turns out the "Australian" Roses are a loud bunch. "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie," they shouted. "Oi, Oi, Oi." Frank Feeney the father of Queensland Rose Kathryn Feeney, was wearing two customised baseball caps bearing his daughter's name. These days any Rose worth her salt comes with her own brand of customised accessories including badges, sashes and banners. It's only a matter of time before Rose Dolls, the antithesis of funky Bratz, start to appear in the shops.

Kerry's victory over Cork in the football yesterday afternoon took the attention from the Roses for a while. Some took that as an omen that hot favourite Kerry Rose Colleen Shannon would be crowned Rose of Tralee. Watching the match in the Brogue, Waterford man Michael O'Faolain said he had been coming to the festival for 20 years with his wife, Philomena. They don't drink or smoke and prefer to get their kicks star-spotting in the Brandon Hotel. "We are like a couple of kids above in the Brandon watching all the celebrities walk around," he said taking tea in the upstairs bar. "I pretend I know them all and shake their hands. We even got on the television one year."

He wasn't convinced Kerry would triumph off the pitch, and reckoned this year's crown will go to either Belfast Rose Aisling McDowell or Clare Rose Theresa Roseingrave. "Belfast looks like a movie star and Clare has a beautiful face, but I will be watching them both and I won't make my final decision until 2pm on Tuesday when I will put two euro on one of the girls," he said.

The big news in Tralee is that the Dome, which is another endearing Rose festival eccentricity, has changed location. Manager of the Brandon Hotel, Shay Livingstone, said it was a free-for-all when the giant marquee was pitched in the front carpark. Now it's located in the back yard, a more exclusive venue, something the more security-conscious escorts should approve.