It’s that time again…..

It may be a while until Ray D’Arcy steps onto a Tralee stage to pick the finest rose of the bunch, but lovely girls (ahem) around the world are already tuning their fiddles and hitching up their socks for the international Rose of Tralee nominations. The competition proper isn’t until August, but apparently it takes a long time to get your party piece in order.

Last year’s winner is Australian, Queensland rose Kathry Feeney. Can Australia do the double.

As per the rest of Dermot Morgan’s stuff,  the Father Ted parody is spot on, but according to Wikipedia it’s not purely a product of Morgan’s imagination. Butlins apparently had a ‘Lovely Girls’ competition in Mosney back in the day.

Feck! (And, of course, drink, girls)

More on the very lovely girls competing to represent Australia in this year’s Rose of Tralee in next week’s Irish Echo.