As any regular readers of this column should be aware by now we're great fans of the Rose of Tralee here at Talking About Tralee.

As such there's nothing we like to hear more than a little interesting trivia about the history of Ireland's favourite pageant and festival.

This week The Kerryman learned two fascinating tales about the history of William Mulchinock's famous ballad that inspired the entire event.

Readers may be aware that the Rose of Tralee has featured in songs by legendary American singer songwriter Tom Waits, who honeymooned in Tralee in the early eighties and metnions the Rose of Tralee on his classic album Rain Dogs.

Those who read our festival supplement this year should also know that the famous ballad also indirectly inspired the rugby anthem "Ireland's Call after Mulchinock's song was used, and poorly received, as an alternative to the national anthem in Ireland's first ever world cup game.

What you might not know is that the song also has a slightly more grisly history that takes in war and executions.

Firstly lets get to the death penalty and executions.

Students of history will no doubt be familiar with the famous, perhaps notorious, English hangman and executioner Albert Pierrepoint.

Albert Pierrepoint was a long serving hangman who in his time oversaw the executions of some 400 people including 200 Nazi's war criminals and Michael Manning, the last man hung in Ireland in 1954.

Despite his grizzly job Mr Pierrepoint was known to be a fairly jovial man with a great singing voice. He was also a huge fan of the Rose of Tralee.

In his biography he recalls one particular time he sang it.

While on a boat to Ireland to carry out an execution in 1941 he met a group of Irish priests and having struck up conversation he decided to sing them. Pierrepoint chose The Rose of Tralee and he ended up leading many of the passengers in a rendition of the famed ballad.

The second Rose related story from the history books also has a World War II connection, though this time a much closer one.

As many thousands of allied soldiers waited to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day there was an understandable air of fear and tension.

To break the mood aboard one of the ships as it crossed the channel one lone piper began to play the 'Rose of Tralee'.

One Irish born soldier, James Percival "Paddy" de Lacy, on hearing the song, stood up and toasted DeValera for keeping Ireland out of the war a moment immortalised in famed D-Day book and film 'The Longest Day.'

Kerryman