WEST Cork\u2019s Lisa McGirr has been crowned Miss Cork and is setting her sights on the Miss Ireland final, determined to use her platform to make a meaningful difference.<\/p>\n
For Lisa, the crown represents more than a title.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to inspire others, advocate for children\u2019s rights and show that stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to incredible opportunities,\u201d she told The Southern Star.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old, with connections to Goleen, Courtmacsherry, Timoleague and Bandon, was crowned at the Miss Ireland launch party and will compete in the national final on November 21 at the Fairways Hotel in County Louth.<\/p>\n
Currently studying Early Years and Childhood Studies at UCC, Lisa is passionate about raising awareness of children\u2019s rights and ensuring every child has a voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I was quite shy, so I understand how difficult finding your voice can be. Being raised between Irish and Cuban cultures taught me the importance of inclusion and belonging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough my studies, I\u2019ve realised how much children depend on us to protect their rights and ensure they feel heard,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Putting her passion into action, Lisa is undertaking ten sunrise swims to raise funds for Barnardos, a children\u2019s charity supporting vulnerable children and families affected by poverty, neglect and difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
Lisa hopes to highlight how community fundraising helps charities continue their vital work.<\/p>\n
Celebrating her Cuban heritage, Lisa will also be organising a Latin dance and arts and crafts class for children in Timoleague Community Hall in aid of Ronald McDonald House Charities Ireland.<\/p>\n
Tickets for the charity fundraiser on Friday October 30 are priced at \u20ac15, and the class, for children aged five to 12, will run from 12.30pm to 3pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing crowned Miss Cork has shown me that confidence grows when you challenge yourself. I hope my journey encourages others, especially young people, to believe in themselves and realise what\u2019s possible when they take that first step,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Cork has two reasons to celebrate as two local beauties prepare to take centre stage at the Miss Ireland 2026 Grand Final.<\/p>\n
Lisa McGirr (21) from Timoleague is Miss Cork and Karen Ogiugo (25) from Youghal is Miss Cork East.<\/p>\n
Supporters can vote for Lisa for free every 24 hours through the MI Org app and follow her journey on Instagram @lisa_McGirr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEST Cork\u2019s Lisa McGirr has been crowned Miss Cork and is setting her sights on the Miss Ireland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-672496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}