For the first time in 74 years, Miss Ireland organization saw history being created as a black woman was crowned the national queen and became the representative of Ireland at Miss World 2021. Miss Ireland 2021 was held on 5th September 2021 at the Killua Castle in Clonmellon, Ireland as she bested 28 other contestants to win the national crown.
Pamela Uba is a medical scientist who represented Galway in the competition. The 26-year-old stunning beauty works in a hospital as a medical scientist in Galway. Even though she hadn’t modelled before, Uba was encouraged to try out for the Miss Ireland after a judge spotted her at the pageant bar. Three past winners, Lauren McDonagh, Aoife O’Sullivan, and Rebecca Maguire, crowned Uba at the end of the event finale.
On being crowned the first black Miss Ireland, Pamela exclaimed it felt amazing to win the crown. She said, “It feels amazing to be that face that young Black girls can look at and say, 'yes she did that, so we can as well. I'm the first and it feels amazing - people are looking up to me and I never thought I'd be in that position."
Uba was born to Nigerian parents in South Africa in 1995. Uba was just seven years old when she moved with her mum and three siblings to the country seeking asylum from Johannesburg where they had lived up to that point. Uba has been openly critical about the difficulties of Ireland’s tough immigration policies.
For Pamela, it’s not just a win for her and the black women of the country but also a significant win for the minorities in Ireland. She spoke, “This crown is not only mine, it's for me and for the Irish people. The people in Ireland that feel they never belonged, it's for them as well. It's for all the little girls and boys that relate to me and my story."
While Pamela has received a lot of appreciation since her crowning, it hasn’t stopped negative comments from entering her DMs. In a recent interview, she said, “You would get a lot of bullying online, racism online, and I’ve experienced it quite a lot, especially since becoming Miss Galway and then becoming Miss Ireland. There is a minority there that feel the need to put out negativity. All I can say is that hurt people are the ones hurting people, and you shouldn’t let them break into your bubble and break you down.”
Pamela is now going to represent Ireland at Miss World 2021 which is scheduled to be held on 16th December 2021 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica will crown her successor at the end of the event finale. Ireland holds one Miss World crown under its belt.