Aine using Miss Meath role to make a difference

Nineteen-year-old Aine O'Connor is embracing her new role as Miss Meath saying she wants to use her platform to create awareness and raise money for charity. The retail management student was awarded the coveted title earlier this year and is hoping for success in the upcoming Miss Ireland competition in September.

"I am over the moon to be crowned Miss Meath. I was in work in Peter's Pub in Dunshaughlin when I got an email saying that they had chosen me and I couldn't believe it, I think everyone in the village, never mind the pub, heard me scream. I had been following the competition for a while and my mam and my boyfriend were saying go on you -  should just go for it  - so I finally did.

"I applied and was called for an interview and I got it. It's an honour to represent my county, I love my county and I'm proud to be from Meath. I played camogie with Meath and have always been really involved in the community.

"The Miss Ireland competition is associated with glamour and glitz and I love that part of it but I also want to use the opportunity to make a difference, I want to be a role model and this gives me a platform to do good. I'm passionate about being involved with charities and hosting charity events and being Miss Meath helps me to be able to do that."

The Kiltale retail management student is passionate about highlighting the importance of sustainable fashion 

Aine has wasted no time in using her profile to voice her concerns over issues that are important to her having just hosted a clothes swap event for charity at the weekend,

"We raised €2,000 for Variety Ireland, a non-profit organisation that helps children with special needs across the country. It was in Dunshaughlin Community Centre and people got a few nice pieces to add to their wardrobe while also being environmentally friendly. The idea came from wanting people to be more interested in sustainable fashion. All the clothes that were sold would have gone into a landfill.

"We got everything for free and had clothes, rails, a sign from PML signs and a popcorn machine donated to us for the event. Everyone around helped out and the only thing that we had to pay for was the hall for the day.  It was so good to see everyone wanting to help out a worthy cause. We had some clothes leftover and these were donated to NCIB charity shop in Dunshaughlin village and the others to the women’s refuge in Navan.

"The inspiration behind it came from me loving the idea of sustainable fashion, I'm really into up-styling clothes and not just throwing them away. It was a way that people could refresh their wardrobe and being environmentally friendly as well. The fashion industry is the third most polluting industry on the planet. It's a way of reinventing your wardrobe without having to buy brand new clothes.

The Clothes Swap was a huge success raising €2000  in aid of Variety Ireland 

"People arrived with four or five items that they wanted to give away, they gained tokens for their items and they swap them for four items that we had. Local retailers donated as well as Dunnes Stores and friends and family also donated clothes.

The Kiltale student is hopeful that her profile being Miss Meath will lead on to more opportunities.

"I always wanted to get into the modelling industry as well so hopefully, having this role will help me do that. I took part in a fashion show organised by the Miss Ireland team recently, again, to raise money for Variety Ireland. I absolutely loved it, I was sponsored by Dunnes Stores Savida and got to showcase their new collection."

Aine isn't giving up on her studies despite having a jam-packed schedule as Miss Meath. 

"I'm currently in TUD (Technological University Dublin) studying retail management, I want to be a fashion buyer and I'd love to have my own business someday. We are really busy lately, we have an event every single weekend and of course, this is all in the run-up to competing to become Miss Ireland. I'd love to represent Ireland across the world, it would be amazing."