Navan Miss Ireland finalist hopes to make late grandfather "proud"

A MISS Ireland hopeful from Navan says she wants to win the competition to make her late grandfather "proud."

Katie Wallace (20), will be representing the royal county in the Miss Ireland Final in the Knightsbrook Hotel in Trim in June after being chosen from dozens of other applicants to take the title.

The Early Childhood Education student says she is most excited to work with two charities close to her heart but it will also be a bittersweet experience as her grandad, well known Navan bus driver Eamon Collier will not be here to see her take to the stage having passed away last September.

Eamon was a well-known and popular Bus Eireann driver on the Navan to Drogheda route who had the privilege, as a Meath football supporter, of bringing the All-Ireland winning Meath teams and the Sam Maguire cup home from Croke Park in the 1980s and '90s. He was also very involved in the parish bingo in the community centre in Navan on Monday nights, where he was a central figure for many years, selling bingo books, calling the numbers in his distinctive voice, and making sure it all ran smoothly.

"My grandad was a very prominent figure in the community and I think one of the reasons I wanted to do this was to have a connection to him because he represented our county so well and I'd love to do the same myself on some level," said Katie.

"He was a real Navan man and such a role model for us all in the family," she added.

"When I told him that I was applying for Miss Ireland he was delighted so I'm just hoping to make him proud."

Katie says she also wants to use the platform to make a positive contribution to the work being done for children’s mental health and homelessness in Ireland.

"I'm working with a mental health charity called A Lust for Life that works with children in schools and implements mental health education into their everyday curriculum.

"They are two charities that are close to my heart and that link in with me and the area I want to work in."

The Miss Ireland finalist says it is "her dream" to be a primary school teacher.

"I have always wanted to be a teacher, in school , I was always trying to find little roles to do like going into the younger classes and helping out. I love working with kids and especially with early childhood education you get to see them grow and develop over time."

Katie hopes her passion for the Irish language will inspire younger generations to embrace Irish culture.

"I have such a love for the Irish culture and language and I spent some of my primary school years in a Gaelscoil but even when I left the Gaelscoil I was still living right beside the Gaeltacht in Rathcairn so even when I wasn’t surrounded by Irish in school as much, I was always around it when I was at home," she said.

"My brother is fluent in Irish and did all of his education in Irish so he definitely influenced me to make an effort to learn it even if I wasn’t in a Gaelscoil anymore," added Katie.

"When I started college I wanted to implement Irish into my teaching when I went on teaching placement as I personally think it is so important for children to be immersed in the language at a young age so they can bring it with them throughout their life. I also have such a love for trad music and think it is such a huge part of our culture. I’ve always grown up around people that love and embrace the Irish culture and language whether it’s friends or family so they have definitely rubbed off on me.

"I am so excited for this journey and I can’t wait to meet all of the amazing finalists along the way!"