Daithi O Se found it tough not to get emotional…

Daithi O Se found it tough not to get emotional discussing heartbreaking stories on Rose of Tralee

Daithi O Se admitted he found it tough not to get emotional discussing the Rose of Tralee’s heartbreaking stories about losing their parents.

Winning Rose of Tralee Rachel Duffy from Westmeath was one of many Roses who bravely opened up on stage about the loss of their loved ones.

She discussed the death of her mum, Cathy, when she was just nine.

And father of one Daithi, who shares eight-year-old son Ogie with his wife and former New Jersey Rose Rita Talty, admitted he couldn’t help but think about him when she told her story.

Speaking from the Dome in Tralee, the Kerry native, 46, told the Irish Daily Mirror: “Some of the Roses were telling really personal stories about losing people. And to see them get through that be able to stand there and deliver it the way they do, you are kind of proud of people.

“You can take it for granted that people can go up on stage and say they lost their mum or dad at five or six years old, so to be able to do it in front of a live stage and packed dome and TV cameras, I think it takes someone very strong to do that.

“It is very, very hard [not to get emotional],” he admitted.

“There was one Rose and she lost her mum when she was nine and my young fellow is eight. And I remember chatting to her outside about the memories of her mum, and she had plenty, but I was thinking ‘what if anything happened to me?’ for my young fella. When you have a child you put yourself in all these situations and scenarios, so that kind of caught me.

“I thought ‘Jesus, what if something happened to me, will he remember me in his 20s?’

“So it is good to hear that they do remember the mums and dads they have lost, even if it was a long time ago.

“And they felt the positivity in the Dome from those people.”

It comes after the longtime host of the International Rose of Tralee festival recently opened up about losing his own father in August 2013.

This year marked Daithí’s 11th year presenting the show.

And looking ahead at 11 years time, he reckons his son will be pushing him out of the way to have his own fun at the festival.

“I imagine he will be here in 10 years time saying ‘come on dad, get out of my way, I’m going downtown’.

“If he has half as much fun as his father had, he’ll be doing very well.”

Daithi said Rita and Ogie are currently in the US visiting family, so they were unable to be there to watch him in action this week.

“Rita was in Madison Square Garden last night at a Harry Styles concert with her niece but she told me she came back and watched it when she got home.

“But the young fella was watching it, so Rita’s mom sent on a few pictures of Ogie watching me come out on stage.