Despite first appearances, it’s not a typical day in the Claddagh, one of Galway city’s most scenic locations. The sun is shining as people walk their dogs, drink coffee and idly chat while gazing out on the River Corrib as it enters the sea. But there’s something else going on. A familiar-looking man holding a single red rose is making many of them stop in their tracks or look back for a double-take.

“Is that your man from the telly?”

“Isn’t that, what’s his name? The Rose of Tralee guy?”

“Sorry, is that Dáithí Ó Sé?”

The last one is delivered directly to me by a young woman, as I watch the television presenter pose for photos in a red vintage Ford truck. Her mother is a big fan.

The following hour is littered with similar interactions, with many asking the popular TV personality for a handshake, a photo or even a video to send their relative.

Man of the people

There is an ease with which Dáithí delivers these short but meaningful messages – always asking where the recipient of the video is from to personalise it. But it turns out, he’s had a lot of practice with this sort of thing.

“It was the May Bank Holiday weekend during COVID,” he says. “There were no pubs open and not a whole lot to do. One or two people had asked me to do videos for their parents or grandparents who were at home and I said, ‘No bother’.”

When he put the offer on social media, the father-of-one was flooded with requests and recorded almost 950 video messages between Thursday and the following Tuesday.

But while his day job on The Today Show has endeared him to generations, it’s the 50-year-old’s long-standing role as the host of The Rose of Tralee that has really earned him a place in Irish television history.

From hosting the Kerry Rose selection in the early noughties, he judged the regional Rose competition in 2008 before moving on to the same role for the International Rose of Tralee. In 2009, he became the chairperson of the international judging panel.

In 2010, when Ray D’Arcy, the host at the time, decided that he would not be returning, Dáithí was the natural successor.

“I was working full-time with TG4 at the time,” he says. “That opportunity came along and it’s one that you just can’t say no to.

“I was in Portland, Maine, doing a show for TG4. At 5am in the morning my phone rang and someone said, ‘How’s it going? The Rose of Tralee is yours if you want it?’”

This may be Dáithí’s 16th year as the host, but the veteran presenter still remembers his first night on the Dome stage – primarily because of his unintentionally dramatic entrance.

“Walking out on the first night, that’s a memory that’ll always stay with me because someone said, “Oh, the director called out your name,” as in ‘here is your host...’ but I didn’t come out.

“I was probably three seconds behind what they were expecting. So, they all said, “Oh, this fella’s leaving the tension build, right?” But I didn’t hear him, I was so excited!

“Ah, there was fierce excitement. My parents were there and I think it was a big deal for them. I just wanted to do my family, my community and Kerry proud. That was the main thing.”

Standout moments

After 15 years, there have been plenty of standout moments from his time on stage with the Roses.

“There’s one in particular,” he admits. “I won’t mention her name but her mom passed away the year before and it had been her dream to see her as a Rose.

“We were talking beforehand, and she said, ‘I feel my mother around me when I see butterflies.’ Then we were on stage and what came out, only a butterfly. I swear to God.

“We didn’t even speak of it on stage. But I spoke to her after. She said, ‘Did you see it?’ I said, ‘I did. Did you?’ ‘Yeah,” she replied. Well, we all know who that was.”

Another standout moment was when Carlow Rose Shauna Ray Lacey sang Crazy World in 2018. She dedicated it to her father who died after battling a heroin addiction.

“That interview was just outstanding,” Dáithí says. “I think the real thing about The Rose of Tralee, what people skim over, is how hard it is to go up on stage in front of 2,000 people and tell these private things on live television. To be able to do that with grace and dignity is the thing that humbles me every time I’m up there.”

The iconic moment in 2022 when Dáithí undertook the Wim Hof Ice Bath challenge with Kildare Rose, Ashleigh Byrne, is also on his list.

Only the director, producer and wardrobe person knew that he was wearing Velcro pants with a pair of Kerry shorts underneath. To the delight of the audience, he ripped them off to plunge into the ice bath and the rest is The Rose of Tralee history.

“They were worried about hypothermia or that I’d get a heart attack, but afterwards, I was going, ‘Can I do this every evening? I feel really refreshed.”

In 2023, Dáithí was informed that he would be getting a female co-host. His first instinct was to question what he had done wrong but he was quickly assured that producers just wanted to move with the times.

“I had two choices, I could do it or not. I said if I was going to do it that I’d be happy and I wouldn’t have any regrets, and I haven’t.”

When his long-time pal Kathryn Thomas got the gig, he was delighted.

“If the right person didn’t go in there, I don’t think it would have worked as well,” he says. “It was a gear change alright, but onwards and upwards.”

Although he expects to be joined in Kerry this year by his wife Rita (the 2008 New Jersey Rose) and his 12-year-old son Micheál Óg, the proud husband and dad says they know that he is in ‘work mode’ when he’s in Tralee.

“My main thing when I meet the Roses is that I’m in great form and full of energy,” he explains. “There are no excuses because there’s no place to hide on The Rose of Tralee stage.”

When it comes to nerves before the live show, his outlook is simple.

“I’m the least important person inside the Dome,” he says. “It’s not about me. It’s about the Rose on stage.

“For the Roses, my main job is to make sure that they’re happy on stage and when they get off they’re saying, ‘That was brilliant.’ That’s all I want to hear. That’s my job down there.”

“Well Dáithí, you’re still at it, hah?” an older man heckles him good-naturedly while the presenter poses on an upturned boat.

“Still coddin’ them,” Daithí shouts back, grinning, as the man hoots with laughter and walks on.

Reflecting on what has been key to his successful career, he muses, “You need a bit of luck. No matter what profession you’re in, you’re not going to please everybody.

“Life isn’t like that. But all you need is two or three people to believe in you, and the rest will follow.

“And remember, a pat on the back is six inches from a kick up the arse!”

The Rose of Tralee airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Monday 17 August and Tuesday 18 August from 8pm