Galway’s own, Alannah Larkin, sets off this weekend to represent Ireland in the Miss Earth finals in the Philippines, facing off contestants from around the globe.
18-year-old Larkin who is from Eyrecourt, wowed the judges at the Miss Earth Grand Finale Gala at the Mount Falcon Estate in Ballina in May this year, earning her place at the finale in Parañaque, Philippines on Tuesday, November 29.
Larkin will be participating in the 22nd annual internationally based major beauty pageant, Miss World, that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Miss Earth sees delegates come from 91 countries and is one of the four major international pageants along with Miss World, Miss International and Miss Universe.
For Larkin, the contests environmental advocacy was a big part of the allure for her.
“I loved Miss Earth’s message of ‘beauties for a cause’. Miss Earth is so much more than a pageant with the whole aspect of preservation conservation and environmentalism. Being a part of a group of women that strives to change the world for the better is so rewarding and special.”
Larkin who is studying to be a primary school teacher in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, says that her advocacy for the “education of young people to be more eco-conscious in their daily lives” is a large part of her desire to join the pageant which emphasises environmental sustainability.
“In primary school I was a part of the ‘green school committee’ and loved writing poems for the school about saving water and waste separation. However, as I got older, I noticed that there wasn’t as much of an emphasis on environmental awareness in school, which is why I wanted my advocacy to be education related.
“It’s always been my dream to be a teacher, and now with my experience in Miss Earth, I’m excited to incorporate environmental knowledge into my lessons. I strongly believe our target audience for these issues should be with the younger generation who are the most impressionable audience.
Larkin will be supported in her efforts by her family, with her mother Alice heading over to Parañaque with her, and by Miss Earth Ireland pageant coordinators Alan Murphy and Denis Cronin who have helped her hone skills for the talent contest, where she will be singing and doing some Irish dancing.
For Larkin, being potentially crowned Miss Earth, would be a “huge honour” saying, “with the climate change and the climate crisis being so topical and urgent, to be a part of the resolution would mean so much to me. Not only is it a brilliant platform for speaking out and making people more aware of environmental issues in the world, but it’s also an amazing platform for my singing, music and dancing.”
If Larkin wins, she says that she will likely have to celebrate in the Mary Immaculate College’s library as she has assignments to finish, but hopes that by taking part in Miss Earth that she can encourage people to be more conscious in their consumption.
“If everyone reading this made a conscious effort to monitor the products that they are buying, their waste separation and their daily carbon footprint, it would be an amazing achievement.”
