ANNMARIE IS READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD
I RECENTLY caught up with the beautiful and talented Miss Wexford the lovely AnnMarie Blake who comes from Blackwater and is currently one of 35 contestants for the Miss Ireland Finals to be held in Dublin on Friday September 23 at the Crown Plaza Hotel.
The winner will go on to represent Ireland at the Miss World Finals in Washington DC in November along with receiving a lucrative modelling contract and a host of prizes including clothes, professional photo shoot, private training sessions and a huge range of beauty products.
AnnMarie heard about the competition through a friend and decided to enter, being a former Miss Universe contestant where she reached the final 12 in Ireland in 2014, really enjoying the experience.
‘I decided to give Miss Ireland a lash as you never know what may come of this kind of exposure and you never know who you may encounter along the way. I’m a girl who likes to challenge myself and I am continually looking at ways to extend my horizons and stretch my boundaries.’
And AnnMarie is already enjoying the journey giving interviews and attending launches, charity events and fashion shows. ‘There is such an array of activities that you are kept very busy, but it is all good,’ AnnMarie went on to say, ‘and it is not only giving me a chance to put myself out there in the fashion industry arena it is also giving me an opportunity to act as an ambassador for my county and to show support for and create awareness of local charities and organisations that are doing trojan work in my area.
‘The knowledge that you gain along the way is incredible, I never knew there was so much happening and so many people involved in a voluntary capacity. In fact I am truly amazed at all the wonderful work being done and I am delighted that I can in some small way champion and showcase it.’
And AnnMarie is not just a pretty face with an honours degree in Early Childhood Education & Care she is a montessori teacher at Carraig Briste, Enniscorthy, and has been playing classical piano for years and just recently has taken up the Ukulele which she says ‘is fun to play’. She keeps herself fit with Zumba dancing and likes to follow her local GAA Club and watch her two younger brothers compete.
AnnMarie is warm, friendly, ambitious without being forward, competitive without being ruthless, confident without being arrogant, unafraid to take chances and challenge herself, loves meeting new people and is great with children and really wants to win this competition because as she says ‘to represent your county is a tremendous achievement and has made me both proud and humble at the same time but to represent your country would be a dream come true’.
When I asked her about the competition itself and what it was like, she replied: ‘I am going wonderful places and meeting wonderful people including my fellow contestants – so what’s there not to like?’
Good luck on September 23 AnnMarie, you would make an excellent Miss Ireland and do both your county and your country proud.