RTÉ crew member kicked by a Rose in the face (to the tune of Seal's Kiss From A Rose)

Something one unlucky crew member discovered the hard way, when he was accidentally hoofed in the face by a Rose during dress rehearsals.

“Sooooorry!” aerial acrobat Amy Callaghan said as she span upside down in a giant Cyr Wheel. “I didn’t see you standing there.”

The man nodded - and then took several steps backwards.

Once Amy, who was dressed in the official R.O.T Off Duty Uniform (a GAA jersey), had completed her party piece, she flipped out of the frame and it was host Dáithi Ó Sé’s turn to clamber inside.

“Can we get a ladder? Or a chair? A stool even? I’m afraid I’ll put my back out,” he said before hoisting himself into the metal ring.

“That’s going to be a meme,” an RTE crew member said excitedly.

“Daithi and his hoop. Everyone will be tweeting it.”

Sadly, however Ó Sé decided not to try his hand at acrobatics during the live show.

But he was still a good sport and no one could accuse him of not throwing himself into the show.

He bit into raw onions and turnips, wore an umbrella hat while cracking whips, learnt how to jive, was blindfolded, squared up to a puppet mini-Daithi, and took lots and lots of abuse from Will Leahy.

Ó Sé shifted 14 pounds to get in shape for the festival and his new levels of fitness were put to the test last night.

Yorkshire Rose and yogi Aisling McArdle directed him through some yoga poses.

“Get on your hands and knees like a dog,” she said before asking O’Se to raise his right leg.

“And stick your bum up in the air Daithi.”

The Kentucky Rose Martha Mortell gave him a lesson in kick boxing. “We’ve a McGregor here,” Daithi said.

While the Toronto Rose, Colombe Nadeau O'Shea, challenged him to a ‘limbo off’.

“He won’t beat me,” she said confidently before taking to the stage. “There’s no way that’s happening.”

Daithi had come up with an inventive way to make sure he got under the limbo bar (crawling across the floor) but sadly it didn’t work.

It wasn’t all lightness and cheer however, and the Roses touched on more serious subject matters such as global terrorism, domestic violence, over coming physical illness, mental health issues and baby Charlie Gard.

The Donegal Rose spoke eloquently about dealing with exam pressure.

“I think everyone goes through their own blip in their life,” she said. “When I was going into sixth year and the exam pressures and everything snowballed… and it was hard”.

The 2,000 strong crowd cheered enthusiastically, waving posters and flags manically.

Thomas Lynch, a business consultant from Castleisland, topped the poll among Roses and Rose Escorts to become the 2017 Rose Escort of the Year.

Thomas was paired with the Kilkenny Rose Tara Roche for the first three days of the festival and the Dubai Rose, Lisa O'Donohue for the remainder of the event.

The self confessed 'rugby fanatic' was awarded €1,000.

The other two Escorts to be shortlisted were Paul Fitzgerald - a radio presenter and actor from Limerick, who said his greatest acting credit was when he from starring in RTE's Killinaskully. Daniel McLaughlin a carpenter from Donegal was also in the final three.

Michael Healy Rae and former Rose winner Maria Walsh was amongst the crowd.

Once the final curtain fell, audiences members flitted out and made a beeline across the road to the Rose Hotel bar.

With the first night done and dusted, the crowning Rose will be named tomorrow night.

And then the real party can begin.