Monday 19 May 2014

Face Of Ireland

Hi all,

I have some very exciting news to share!
I am delighted to say I have been selected as a Finalist for the Face Of Ireland competition this year. 
*Face Of Ireland is an Ambassadorial search to represent Ireland along with supporting various Irish charitable causes.

The Cause: 
This years chosen charity is 'Join Our Boys' - A very touching case involving 3 beautiful young brothers: Archie, George & Isaac Naughton from Roscommon who all have a terminal illness called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The goal is to raise as much support and awareness as possible in the hope that a cure will be discovered for the condition. The campaign has already gained immense national support with communities pulling together to hold regular fundraisers in aid of the boys trust. 
Proceeds will also go towards helping the family financially, as they will soon need a new wheel-chair accessible home along with expensive equipment which the boys will sadly require in the near future.
I feel honoured to be apart of this competition and will do my utmost best to promote, support and raise awareness on belhalf the Naughton family.


The Competition:
My entry into the competition initially started with an online application from which to my suprise I was short listed for an interview. The interview was held in Bewleys Hotel in Dublin last month where I was delighted to be selected as a Semi-Finalist. 
The Semi Finals which included 14 stunning girls took place on Friday 16th May and what a night it was! 
The Face Of Ireland team were on hand with a warm welcome as soon as we all arrived at the venue The Red Cow Moran Hotel at 9am. Firstly CEO Brian Cunnigham gave an informative talk on the background of Face Of Ireland and the various charities it has helped throughout the years.
We all began to bond easily throughout the day which was lovely, I absolutely love meeting new people and have already gained new friends among the Face Of Ireland family.
We were then called individually to the board room where we were interviewed by a celebrity judging panel including Leah Egan (Fair City) Jay Dolan (The Voice) and Aoibhe Devlin (Irish Fashion & Beauty Blogger). 
Slightly apprehensive upon entering the room, my nerves immediately disappeared as the interview commenced. The judges were absolutely lovely giving smiles of encouragement throughout and providing a relaxed atmosphere. 
A well earned lunch then followed along with Hair & MakeUp, it was such a treat to be on the other side and have it done by someone else who I will did a fantastic job! 
Lastly and most importantly prior to the actual show, we had our onstage rehersals where we were given guidelines by the team regarding, catwalk, composure and personality on stage.
At 7.30pm excitement mounted as our family, friends and guests began to arrive to be greeted with an exclusive champagne reception.


The show kicked off at 8.30pm with host Mr.Ireland/Mr World 2010 Kamal Ibriham who kept the night upbeat and interesting having some light-hearted fun with us onstage aswell as projecting a few more serious questions in relation to the prize role.
I thoroughly enjoyed my onstage interview and finished it with a self-written poem.
I enjoyed watching the other girls just as much, each one had something interesting and unique to share in their interviews.
When the Interviews drew to a close, the judges left to deliberate only to come back onstage 10 minutes later with the result...
To my absolute shock & excitement my name was called out first, it was a very surreal moment and I was overwhelmed to see my family and friends cheering and bouncing full of pride in the audience.
I was then joined by the other 3 beautiful winners Racheal Clarke, Lisa McGowan & Tara Gannon.


I feel very privilaged to have been chosen as a Finalist in this fantastic competition with such a worthy cause at heart. I am really looking forward to the National Grand Final in October where the 4 of us girls will be joined by the Winners of the other regional semi-finals in a bid to become the Face Of Ireland 2014.

Thank you all for reading,

#keepmoving #keepmarching #joinourboys

Leah xx




No comments:

Post a Comment