Any good news for Ireland at Miss Universe is hard to come by these days. The last time they placed was in 2010 when Rozanna Purcell made it to the Top 10. Prior to that, it was more than a decade of drought. Andrea Roche, the one running the Miss Universe Ireland contest nowadays, was one of the semifinalists in 1998.
So why it is difficult for Ireland to win the crown? The closest that the country can make it was two 2nd runners-up finish – Marlene Margaret McKeown in 1963 and Roberta Brown exactly two decades later.
This year, Ireland [Big4 Rank No. 28] is fielding Joanna Cooper for Miss Universe 2015 pageant. She vowed to be an advocate of girls with smaller height. Though she is 5’8″ tall, she claims that she was turned down by modelling agencies for being short.
Anyway, she is a celebrity lookalike back in Ireland. She is a glamorous blonde whose eyes smile all the time. With such an ethereal beauty, can she replicate the success of Rozanna Purcell (who is also a blonde)? Or better yet, can she win it for Ireland this time around?
