Rose of Tralee set to get new host but Dáithí Ó Sé isn’t going anywhere

A little confused? Let us explain.

The Rose of Tralee is due for a massive shake-up and with this, the show could see a woman joining Dáithí Ó Sé on hosting duties for this year's festival. Dáithí has held onto hosting duties since 2009 when he took over the show from Ray D'Arcy, who had been at the helm for 15 years. Before Ray, Gay Byrne hosted the festival for 17 years. With the festival set to make its return in August, RTÉ is planning a massive shake-up and plan to bring in a co-host, with Kathryn Thomas, Doireann Garrihy and former Ireland AM host Anna Daly all tipped to join. Sources have claimed that RTÉ’s new Head of ­Entertainment Commissioning, Alan Tyler, is hoping the make changes to all programming after a series of differences already announced. A spokeswoman for RTÉ told the Irish Daily Mail: "Details of the Rose of Tralee will be announced closer to the time and we have no comment to make now." Sources also said: "RTÉ wants to inject new Tralee. Dáithí will be back as normal, because it wouldn’t be the same without him, but he will be getting a co-host.’ There have been several changes to RTÉ’s programming in the past few months – including Doireann joining Jennifer Zamparelli on Dancing With The Stars, Patrick Kielty becoming the new Late Late Show host, and Laura Fox becoming the new host of Ireland’s Fittest Family, with Sonia O’Sullivan set to become the newest coach on the show." Along with this, another told RSVP: "Doireann Garrihy joined Jennifer Zamparelli on Dancing With The Stars and impressed, so it is no surprise she is in the mix. Kathryn Thomas is an audience favourite, and Anna Daly has been getting steady work with RTÉ since leaving Virgin Media’s Ireland AM." While there has been no official comment on this by the national broadcaster, the festival is set to take place from August 18 to 23 and will be televised on August 21 and 22 at MTU’s Kerry Sports Academy.

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