Sir, - As a native of Tralee who grew up with the Rose of Tralee Festival, I naturally have a deep-seated affection for the event.
The ongoing debate on its usefulness and relevance in "modern Ireland" is a legitimate one, even if at times the competition can hardly bear the weight of argument on femininity, exploitation and "culchie culture" which is thrust upon it. However, in this lively and entertaining exchange of views a few basic facts about the festival tend to be forgotten.
1. The Festival of Kerry (as it then was) and the Rose of Tralee competition were invented in 1959 by a group of local volunteers with the aim of reviving both the faltering Tralee Carnival Week and the stagnant local economy. Those founders had little money and hardly any experience in organising events, but they did have vision, enthusiasm and energy.
2. At a time of economic gloom and mass emigration their efforts revitalised Tralee and brought money and jobs to a town whose population had hardly increased since the Famine.
3. Over four decades later the festival remains an outstanding example of local initiative. It created a community dynamic and a sense of civic pride that has contributed to development in both Tralee and Co Kerry.
4. Despite occasional hiccups, freedom reigns in Co Kerry, as elsewhere in Ireland, and since its inception nobody has been obliged to attend the festival, participate as a Rose contestant or watch the event on television. Thousands do, and enjoy themselves immensely in the process - not least the begrudgers at the backs of sitting-rooms and pubs who moan endlessly about the sheer awfulness of a competition which they often watch diligently to the end.
If the Celtic Tiger cannot handle the Rose of Tralee Festival, God help it in its attempts to confront more serious issues (the Good Friday Agreement, poverty, immigration, environmental damage, hospital waiting-lists, homosexuals' rights, political corruption, to mention but a few). - Yours, etc.,
Stephen O'Sullivan, rue de Bellefond, Paris, France.