Miss Ireland Pamela gets to live green dream on the world stage

Extra Reporter - 22/11/2021

This Lady in Green is off to the Miss World contest in Puerto Rico.

Beautiful Pamela Ashley Uba has been pictured wearing a stunning green outfit and her Miss Ireland sash at Dublin Airport as she heads off to represent ‘my beautiful Ireland’.

Born in South Africa to Nigerian parents, Ms Uba made history when she became the first black woman to be crowned Miss Ireland in September.

Miss Ireland 2021 Pamela Ashley Uba at Dublin Airport.

She posted on Twitter on Sunday: ‘Off to Puerto Rico I go to represent my beautiful Ireland on the Miss World stage’, with emojis of an Irish flag, a green heart and a shamrock, and a hashtag saying ‘team Ireland’.

Ms Uba, 26, whose family moved from South Africa to Ireland when she was seven, spent 10 years living in Direct Provision which she described as ‘quite difficult’ and as putting ‘a downer on your mental health’.

She now has a master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin in clinical chemistry and works in Galway University Hospital.

Pamela Ashley Uba made history when she became the first black woman to be crowned Miss Ireland in September. Pic: PIP

In September, she also became the first black woman to hold the Miss Ireland title in 74 years of the beauty contest.

On winning Miss Ireland, she said: ‘It feels surreal, like I haven’t come back down to Earth. It’s just a whirlwind of thrills and excitement and I’m so, so, so grateful.

‘When you have a dream, and you work so hard for it, when you actually achieve it, it is quite shocking to realise, “Oh my God you actually made it”.

Ms Uba has a master’s degree from Trinity College Dublin in clinical chemistry and works in Galway University Hospital. Pic: Pamela Ashley Uba

‘I couldn’t believe it, I just broke down in tears. I was telling myself, “Don’t cry”, but it just kept flooding out of me.’

But now her sights are set higher, on the Miss World title itself, the oldest-running international beauty pageant.

Started in Britain by Eric Morley in 1951, the Miss World contest has only once been won by an Irish woman, when Rosanna Davison took the title in 2003.

The final of Miss World takes place on December 16. Pic: Pamela Ashley Uba

The current Miss World is Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica.

Due to a huge demand for tickets, this year’s Miss World final was moved to Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, the largest indoor venue on the Caribbean island.

The contest begins now, with the final on December 16 when Ms Singh will crown her successor as the new Miss World.

https://extra.ie/2021/11/22/must-see/miss-ireland-pamela-uba-dublin-airport