Newry woman Erin is crowned Miss Northern Ireland finalist

She scooped the title of ‘Miss Cookstown’ during a heat that took place in Jailbird, Cookstown on Friday 19 April.

Girls from across the country competed for their place at the Miss Northern Ireland final in front of an astute judging panel, which included: Managing Director and Event organiser, Victoria Withers, Floor Manager of Jailbird, Paula McGeagh, Former Miss Northern Ireland and Miss Europe, Anna Leitch, and Natasha Sharma of YellowTom.

Erin Lockhart, an 18-year-old student, from Newry, was awarded “Miss Cookstown”, while Kayleigh McCarron, an 18-year-old student from Clogher, was crowned “Miss Jailbird”.

The pair will now progress to the grand final in Belfast’s Europa Hotel on Monday 27 May.

They stand a chance of winning the coveted title of ‘Miss Northern Ireland 2024’.

Competition organiser Victoria Withers said: “We were thrilled to be at Jailbird, it was the perfect venue to continue the search this year and a brilliant day was had by all.

"Cookstown had a strong calibre of girls who entered! A big thank you to all who came along!”

Last year’s winner, Kaitlyn Clarke added: “Congratulations to Kayleigh and Erin!

"My year as Miss Northern Ireland has been a dream come true. It is something that I will treasure forever, and I cannot thank event organiser Victoria Withers and ACA models enough for giving me this life changing opportunity.

"It certainly has been a busy year!