Rose of Tralee presenter Dáithí Ó Sé has become as iconic as the pageant itself – even though the opportunity only “fell on his lap”. 

The television presenter succeeded Ray D’Arcy as host in 2010. 

He told The Anton Savage Show that, like other parts of his television career, it was a matter of “right place, right time”. 

“I had done the weather for so long and I got to do some of the music awards for TG4, and then I was lucky enough to travel around the States,” he said. 

“I was happy enough to keep going down the road I was going and certain things just fell into my lap. 

“In one sense, when I moved to RTÉ in 2010, that kind of happened with the Rose of Tralee. 

“Ray D’Arcy was there before me, he moved on [and] I’d been doing some of it in the background on the judging panel. 

“A lot of it has to be being in the right place at the right time – and a small bit of luck. 

“Whether it's in a job or a football game or hurling match or in life, a small bit of luck will carry you a long way. 

“I get more gigs inside the RTÉ canteen if I go in there – you have to be out and about the entire time.” 

Presenting the Rose of Tralee

Dáithí said the build-up to the Rose of Tralee is “wonderful” - but the pressure of presenting does kick in. 

“I remember going down and they were saying there are over a million people watching and I thought, okay, no bother,” he said. 

“Then I thought about [previous presenters] like Gay Byrne and stuff, and I thought, ‘Okay, hold on a second now this is serious’. 

“But I do remember that minute before I went out the first night – there were around 200,000 people in the audience and there was such excitement. 

“There was a real sense of walking out for the first time in 2010 that this is a real job.” 

Some 14 years later, Dáithí got more out of the Rose of Tralee than consolidating himself as a national treasure. 

The presenter married 2008 New Jersey Rose Rita Talty in 2012, and the pair had their son Micheal Óg in 2014. 

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