Laois Takes Queen of the Land Title 2006
Breda Goulding crowned Queen of the Land at the Festival in Tullamore
Winner 2006
20th November 2006
LAOIS TAKES QUEEN OF THE LAND TITLE
Breda Goulding now faces Podge and Rodge
Queens County is celebrating a new member of the royal family this week as Breda Goulding was crowned Queen of the Land in Co Offaly last weekend. Breda was highly praised by the judging committee and her fellow contestants who said she was a worthy winner of the prestigous event.
It was a hectic weekend for Breda who attended a host of events laid on for her and the twenty-three other contestants over three days. She was representing Mountmellick Macra at the event. She now faces the daunting task of heading to Balldung to partake in the Ms Ballydung competition on the Podge and Rodge Show on RTE in December. The Queens were only told of the news at the start of the weekend as the festival organisers feared a number of no shows if an announcement was made before the weekend.
“It was one of the the best weekends of my life” Breda enthused “we were treated like real Queens over the weekend, with the organising committee doing everything in their power to make every one of us feel special.” When asked of her highlights of the weekend she made special mention of the Treasure hunt which contestants took part in throughout Tullamore on Saturday. ”We were running all over town looking for clues wearing our sashes and getting great reaction from all the public” she said. “Everybody was trying to help us find our way but the clues had even the people of Tullamore confused at times.“ she laughed.
Speaking of her on-stage interview on Saturday night in front of a huge crowd she said she was “not really nervous beforehand and it was over before I knew it.”. Afterwards the girls partied their way into the early hours of Sunday morning. “I didn’t get very much sleep any night” said Breda “and there was a couple of girls who never got to bed at all but I won’t name names” she smiled.
Breda took home the coveted Journal sponsored Queen of the Land title with a prize of €1000 and holiday and fashion vouchers. Meath's Pamela Fahy took the runner-up spot while Corks Margurite O'Flynn was third. It is the third time Laois has held the title. The two previous winners were Moira Miller in 1971 and Kathleen Murphy in 1984.
The judging panel for the event was Maria Moynihan of The Journal, the reigning Queen of the Land, Elaine Murphy from Kilkenny and Macra President Colm Markey. Chairman of the panel, Maria Moynihan, paid tribute to Breda who she said was “a wonderful girl” adding that “Breda has a great personality and is a worthy winner. She is a prime example of the best of modern Irish rural females”
Contestants were judged on a range of attributes. The event is primarily a personality contest with marks also on offer for appearance, dress sense, rural knowledge and elocution. In addition, contestants underwent an interview encompassing a discussion on one of two pre-chosen topics.
The festival, which has grown from humble beginnings, is now one of the most prestigious events on the Offaly social calendar. This year it attracted over two thousand visitors to the Offaly capital at an otherwise quite time of year for tourism. The event expanded last year to coincide with the 40th celebrations with a sister festival of alternative music and bar extensions running throughout almost 30 pubs in the town.
For further information contact:
Fergal Nannery (Festival PRO) 087 2257357
or email: queenoftheland@eircom.net