A Rosy evening - or an icy one - beckons for Daithí in Tralee

The lead-up to the first part of nominations in the Rose of Tralee Festival tonight is heating up - or in the case of host Daithí Ó Sé, it could be a serious cooling off.

The host has been nominated to carry out an Ice Bucket Challenge in aid of charity for the show, and he is mulling over how realistic it could be to execute the plan safely. His Facebook page states that his "Mother-n-law has nominated me for an ice bucket challenge.. lovely!"

Ó Sé would be following public figures including Bill Gates, LeBron James and Taylor Swift in dumping a bucket of iced water over their heads in order to highlight and fundraise for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), known in the US as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Susanna Reid from ITV's Good Morning Britain has also received a freezing dousing. Even Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a drubbing.

The stunt goes like this: People make a video of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, post it on Facebook, Instagram or other social media sites, and then challenge friends to do the same within 24 hours or donate cash to charity.

People have shared more than 1.2 million videos on the craze on Facebook between June 1st and August 13th and mentioned the phenomenon more than 2.2 million times on Twitter since July 29th, according to those sites.

Those who wish to support the Ice Bucket Challenge in Ireland can do so for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). You can text MND to 50300 to donate €2. The association says 100 per cent of this sum goes to it, while some providers may apply VAT.

Additional reporting: New York Times